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Dino Baggio banned Italy midfielder to miss friendly for gesture at referee
Posted: Monday January 10, 2000 02:04 PM
ROME (AP) -- Dino Baggio was barred Monday from Italy's next national team outing for yelling, gesturing and spitting at the referee during a Serie A game. National soccer federation president Luciano Nizzola informed Italy coach Dino Zoff of the decision to prevent Baggio from suiting up for the Feb. 23 friendly against Sweden, federation spokesman Stefano Balducci said. Baggio, a member of Italy's 1994 and 1998 World Cup squads, was ejected by referee Stefano Farina for a rough tackle with 13 minutes left in AC Parma's 1-1 draw against Juventus on Sunday. Before leaving the field, Baggio screamed at Farina, spat in the referee's direction, and rubbed his thumb and index finger together -- a gesture widely interpreted as referring to money. Baggio, who moved to Parma from Juventus in 1994, could face a lengthy suspension from league action. Serie A's disciplinary panel is expected to rule Wednesday. "Seeing myself on television last night I realized how much I had lost my head. ... I was deeply embarrassed," Baggio said in a statement released by Parma. "I need to first of all apologize to Farina and all referees. ... Taking responsibility for unjustifiable behavior, I will accept whatever punishment I am given." The veteran midfielder said Sunday he did not remember what he said or did in protesting the red card, but acknowledged, "I think I won't get away with a short suspension." "In the moment that you make gestures with your hand about money, you put the credibility of the referee and the world of soccer into question," Balducci said. "Right now, there has been a lot of talk about referees and impartiality. That might have been central to [Nizzola's] decision on Baggio." The federations rules allow the president to unilaterally block a player's participation in national team games in cases of "grave behavior," Balducci said. On Saturday, Nizzola asked referees and other officials to return gold Rolex watches and other pricey presents from Serie A club AS Roma. Roma reportedly had blanketed referees with Christmas gifts, including Rolexes valued at US$13,000 for two top officials. Roma called it "a normal act of courtesy never challenged in past years." At least one other club, Juventus, has acknowledged it also gave referees holiday gifts.
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