Consul:

ITALIAN Honorary Consul to Trinidad and Tobago, Steven Webster, yesterday said Italy’s victory over France in the 2006 World Cup final in Berlin will serve as a tremendous boost to Italians all over the world whose spirits had been dampened by match-fixing scandals which have rocked Italian Serie A football to the core.

Italy defeated France 5-3 on penalty kicks after the teams were deadlocked at 1-1 at the end of extra time. French captain Zinedine Zidane put Les Bleus in the lead with a seventh minute penalty but Marco Materazzi equalised for the Azzurri in the 19th minute.

Materazzi, Andrea Pirlo, Daniele de Rossi, Alessandro del Piero and Gennaro Gattuso successfully converted their spot kicks for Italy in the resulting penalty shootout. Slyvain Wiltord, Eric Abidal and Willy Sagnol were the successful penalty kickers for France.

Contacted yesterday at a tennis club in St Augustine where he had watched the game and the 2006 Wimbledon men’s final, Webster told Newsday that he was happy to have witnessed a “great day for sport” which saw Italy crowned 2006 World Cup champions and Roger Federer win his fourth Wimbledon crown.

Webster said the Italians had played well throughout the tournament and deserved to win the cup. He said while their play may not always have been the best, Italy always had a plan and were adventurous to get the results they needed.

Webster said the game against France lived up to its billing but the only blemish on an otherwise great game was Zidane being sent off in the 110th minute for head butting Materrazi. He said it was unfortunate that a player of Zidane’s calibre bowed out of international football this way.

Stating that Italians in TT and back home were in high spirits over the Azzurris’ victory, Webster said the win could do a lot to lift the spirits of Italians who have been shocked and saddened by recent match-fixing scandals in Serie A.

Last month, 26 football officials (including referees and officials from Juventus, AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio) were indicted by the Italian football federation on match-fixing charges.

Juventus, Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio all run the risk of demotion to a lower league and point reductions for next season.

The tribunal formed to determine the fate of these clubs concluded its hearings last Friday. Tribunal head judge Cesare Ruperto said the verdicts could be delivered in the next three to 15 days.