It's a great time to be Italian, but criticism runs wild

	Pippo Inzaghi's last 12 months haven't been bad -- he won a Champions League trophy with Milan and a World Cup with Italy. AP
	MAILBAG Gabriele Marcotti will periodically answer questions from SI.com users in his mailbag. Your name: Your e-mail address: Your home town: Enter your question:

Writing this column is a privilege. And among the perks is the opportunity to answer readers' questions in an occasional mailbag. This may be an American Web site, but readers are from all over the world, reflecting the global nature of the game.

What is curious is how often people make assumptions about your ability to form an opinion based on your nationality.

Case in point: When I wrote about the policing at Old Trafford for the Manchester United-Roma Champions League quarterfinal ("The universal language," April 12), I was accused by some of being overly biased against the English (presumably because I'm Italian).

Others accused me of being anti-Italian for criticizing the actions of the police in Rome in the first leg (I would guess because I live in London). It's a lose-lose situation (or win-win, depending on your viewpoint).

I got similar mail after the Champions League final, like this doozy from Gabriele Mecozzi of Los Angeles: "Gabriele, we have the same name, we are both Italian -- how do you allow yourself to bash Italy? You sound like Lalas [whether he's talking about Galaxy GM Alexi or SI.com columnist Greg is anyone's guess] and the others. We have been the world soccer powerhouse for 25 years!"

I would hope that simply because I share the same name with someone and happen to be Italian, it doesn't mean that I have to defend Italian soccer at every occasion. My "crime" in this case was pointing out that Milan did not play well in the Champions League final ("Winning ugly," May 24 -- which also upset somebody named Marco in Milan, who calls me a "fake Italian").

Well, if criticizing Milan's performance in a particular game makes me a fake Italian, so be it. Carlo Ancelotti must be a "fake Italian" as well since he, too, admitted that Milan played poorly in the final.

Speaking of Milan, Abbz wrote in to question the fact that Milan was even allowed to enter the Champions League, given its role in the Italian match-fixing scandal last summer. He writes that Milan "was found guilty of some of the worst crimes in the sporting world" and wonders whether it can be seen as "worthy champions because of the way they were allowed back into the competition."

Good questions which require some clarification. Milan was, in fact, involved in the Italian scandal. A consultant to the club was caught on tape making inappropriate phone calls to a number of linesmen, complaining about the treatment of the club in certain games and asking them "to do a better job."

There was nothing linking this consultant (a restaurant owner whose job it was to "meet and greet" match officials on game day at the San Siro) to the club itself. But obviously, since he represented the club, Milan was found to be responsible.

The club was docked a total of 38 points: 30 in the 2005-06 season (which meant it dropped from second to third place and therefore had to go through Champions League qualifying) and eight in the '06-07 season (which meant it began at minus eight). Some argued that Milan should not have been allowed to enter the Champions League. But I think that argument is simply wrong.

Milan was found guilty, punished and sentenced. That sentence was applied by the Italian Football Association which, since Milan's "crimes" occurred in Serie A, means that it, not UEFA, had jurisdiction. There has never been any suggestion that Milan did anything untoward in European competition, which is why it was never a UEFA issue. As for being worthy champions, the fact that Milan knocked out both Bayern Munich and Manchester United (as well as Liverpool in the final) is good enough for me.