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After 20 years of television silence, Piero Ceccarini has finally found the words to express himself. The Italian referee, protagonist of the most discussed and controversial case in the history of Italian football, Iuliano's intervention against Ronaldo in the Juventus-Inter match of April 26, 1998, has spoken exclusively to the "Premium" channel and tells his truth. A clearly one-sided truth, which is expected to reopen an old debate: "My mistake was that I did not whistle the Brazilian's foul!". Below is the full interview:
Do you regret that you will only be remembered for the famous Iuliano-Ronaldo episode?
In a sense, yes, because identifying simply and only with that episode is not something that gives me pleasure. Also because it is a whole lifetime of a career as a judge.
How do you evaluate and describe that episode 20 years later?
I can tell you that there was a physical clash between Ronaldo and Iuliano and not the other way around. Today, after all these years, I confirm that what I saw on the pitch corresponds to the reality of the facts, if we are to speak of a physical contact. And I can say that my mistake was not awarding a free kick in favour of Juventus, because the fact that I did not whistle made people think that I had seen Iuliano's foul, but I did not want to give it. In fact, I saw the opposite. If it were a basketball game it would have been an attacking foul by Ronaldo, which I also said to Pagliuca on the pitch.
But if the VAR system had been in operation at the time, would anything have changed?
In fact, the VAR system was in place in that case, and I'm surprised by the fact that no one took it into consideration or pretended not to understand: during the live broadcast and during the "replay" of the episode, the commentator at the time, assisted by Collovati and Chiesa, a former judge, said that it wasn't a penalty.
What was the reaction of the leaders of the judicial sector after that sensational case?
More than anything else, I was extremely surprised by Inter's endless protests. But above all, I regret not being able to explain my version after the match. It was not possible, because referees live in a castle surrounded by high walls: I had proposed organizing a press conference to talk only about this episode from a technical point of view, without making polemics or entering into other discussions, but my suggestion was not taken into account. In the following days, there was a grave silence from the leaders of the refereeing sector, but also from the federation, which actually hurt me a lot.
What would you like to say to Moratti, Simoni and Ronaldo today?
I want to put a lid on this story once and for all, although I think it is impossible. For me, the fact that that episode is still known today as the reason that Inter lost the fight for the championship title is an untrue interpretation. I assessed that episode in the most pure and transparent way. Inter fans can rest assured, on my part there were no bad intentions at any time.
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