On 26 April 1998, Juventus-Inter was played at Delle Alpi. The Scudetto match par excellence which, at that moment, was worth three quarters of the title. Because Juve are at plus one, while the Nerazzurri find themselves with Ronaldo in great form. However, the lead was scored by Alessandro Del Piero, with a beautiful goal, in a first half that was anything but extraordinary. However, many controversial episodes in favor of Juventus had already occurred over the months. So it’s normal that in the second half, in the twenty-fifth minute, an uproar breaks out. Ball contested by Zamorano and Birindelli on the edge of the penalty area, Ronaldo enters and anticipates Iuliano by moving the ball to him.
Inevitable clash, even harsh. For the referee, Ceccarini from Livorno, there was no foul. The action restarts and West collides with Del Piero. This time it’s a penalty: all in a period of sixty seconds. What would have happened with the VAR? It’s a question that would be nice to ask ourselves twenty-six years later, but it’s impossible. Del Piero makes a mistake, Juve wins 1-0 and will then reach the Scudetto.
This is the black jacket’s last comment on the contact. “I’ve already said it many times: the defender was stationary and the attacker was moving. I have one regret: if I had called a foul in attack, the action wouldn’t have restarted and there wouldn’t have been so much controversy. Instead I found myself in the middle to the vortex, for months, for me and for my family. I, my children and my wife suffered insults and contempt, for no reason, that episode damaged my career after retiring”.
Obviously the controversies became very heated after the match. Ronaldo and Simoni tell the referee to be ashamed. Moratti leaves before the end of the match. Sports director Mazzola calls the championship distorted, while Luciano Moggi talks about “breaking through”, as in basketball, while Iuliano says he is “still”, as Ceccarini himself said. Points of view, but reviewing the images it wasn’t really a statue of Madame Tussaud…