LONDON, 7 May 2005 — UEFA is to investigate a protest by Parma after their goalkeeper Luca Bucci was hospitalized following the explosion of a firework near him during their 3-0 UEFA Cup semifinal defeat at CSKA Moscow on Thursday.
UEFA’s Control and Disciplinary Body will examine the Italian club’s protest on Sunday in Geneva, European soccer’s ruling body said yesterday.
Firecrackers were thrown shortly after CSKA’s opening goal in the 10th minute of the second-leg match, which sent the Russian side into the final against Sporting Lisbon on May 18.
Bucci played on for a few minutes before being replaced by Sebastien Frey.
Vladimir Radionov, general secretary of the Russian Football Union (RFU), said CSKA would face no more than a fine.
“That CSKA is facing a fine is absolutely clear,” Radionov was quoted as saying by Russian media on Friday.
“This would have happened even without Parma’s protest. But I don’t believe it will be more than that,” he added.
“Everything will depend on the report from UEFA match delegate, Mihal Listkowicz of Poland. But we don’t know what he has actually written and how he took the incident.”
CSKA declined to comment.
Milan Confident Ahead of Top-of-Table Juve Clash
In Rome, AC Milan’s clash with Juventus at the San Siro on Sunday (kickoff 1300 GMT) could finally separate the only two runners in this season’s Italian title race and go a long way to deciding the destination of the scudetto.
With three rounds to play after Sunday’s game there remains scope for a few late surprises but the two clubs have been locked together at the top of Serie A for so long that a victory for one is likely to prove decisive.
Champions Milan and Juventus are tied on 76 points from 34 matches while third-placed Inter Milan lie a distant third on 62 points. While they have been equals on the pitch, the two teams approach the match with very different mindsets. Milan arrive full of confidence after reaching the final of the Champions League. Italian champions 27 times, Juventus give every impression of being under siege having banned their players from talking to the press.
That is partly in response to the recent controversy surrounding Fabio Cannavaro, who was shown on Italian television using a drip which his lawyer said contained a substance not banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). It is also partly in protest at the league’s refusal to reduce the three-match ban on Zlatan Ibrahimovic which will keep the striker out of Sunday’s game.
In his absence Juve coach Fabio Capello is expected to field a strike partnership of David Trezegeut and Alessandro Del Piero.
The pair scored 81 goals to lead Juve to back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. Injuries have limited them to just five appearances together this season, from which they mustered just one goal from open play and a couple of penalties.
Meantime, Austria Vienna have fired their two coaches after an embarrassing home defeat by champions Graz AK ended in a pitch invasion, Austrian news agency APA reported yesterday.
Austria Vienna fans stormed the pitch after their side went 3-0 down against visiting Graz AK on Thursday. The pitch invasion caused the match to be abandoned and the club face punishment by the Austrian league.
Coaches Guenter Kronsteiner and Lars Soendergaard have been replaced by Peter Stoeger, head of the team’s amateur division, and scout Frenkie Schinkels.
If, as expected, the result of the match stands, Rapid Vienna lead the Austrian first division with 62 points, followed by Graz AK on 59 and Austria Vienna on 57 points.
