Go and bribe a referee. No wonder the Spuds manager had a meltdown over the award of a corner, his team had probably paid big money on a referee.
A tin pot league and a one horse race. Italian teams can’t bribe their way to the European final like Roma did in 1983, instead they have to play by the rules and are being found out.
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Cat got your tongue @Cicero_Dandi?
https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/jim-mclean-admits-feels-sick-1097937
Liverpool have been paired against Roma in the semi-final of the Champions League.
34 years ago the Italian giants played Dundee United in the semi-final of the the same competition.
Roma ran out 3-0 winners in the second leg before they then lost to Liverpool in the final on penalties but it wasn’t a fair fight for the men from Tannadice.
Jim McLean spoke of his anger that his Dundee United players were cheated out of the chance to become European Cup winners.
Roma director Riccardo Viola has confirmed his club gave French referee Michel Vautrot £50,000 ahead of the second leg of their semi-final against United in April, 1984.
McLean’s men had stormed to a 2-0 lead at Tannadice but lost the return in the Olympic Stadium 3-0 as Roma progressed to the Final, which they lost on penalties to Liverpool.
Suspicion has long lingered around Vautrot, who awarded Roma a second-half penalty, and McLean has revealed former SFA secretary Ernie Walker demanded a UEFA probe.
But the beaks in Switzerland didn’t want to know - and United’s defeat has, until now, remained one of the greatest hard-luck tales in Scottish football history.
McLean said: "Roma were under pressure because the European Cup Final was being played in their own Olympic Stadium but it is no excuse to stoop so low as to cheat their way there.
"I’m glad the truth has come out and, now it has, I feel for my former players and Dundee United fans who were denied the greatest game the club would ever have played.
"A European Cup Final would have been wonderful for everyone.
"We had the players to beat Liverpool in that final - we had the players to beat any team when we were on song. I would have loved the opportunity for them to have played in the Final because some of the results they achieved that season were unbelievable. The defeat left a bad taste in my mouth and I’m sad to say we were right, even though we never thought of asking for a probe and accepted we lost over two legs.
"However, a couple of months after the match Ernie Walker told me had done everything within his power to have UEFA look closely into the game.
“He was convinced an attempt at least had been made to bribe the referee but UEFA brushed his suspicions under the carpet.”
Viola spoke with Italian television company Mediaset Premium this week and his comments were picked up yesterday by most newspapers in the country.
Viola is the son of Roma’s late president, Dino, and was on the board of the Serie A club at the time of the semi-final. He said: "Roma gave a middle man 100 million lire (£50,000) destined for referee Vautrot. That is true and a shameful fact.
"Spartaco Landini, the director of football at Genoa, came to see my father. He told him Vautrot was a friend of his and that we could get at him via another friend but the referee would have to be given 100million lire.
"He said a dinner would be organised with the referee on the eve of the game and a signal to show the deal had been done would be demanded.
"During the dinner a waiter went up to the referee saying ‘Telephone call for Mr Vautrot’. That was the prearranged signal.
"Vautrot left the table and when he returned said, ‘My friend Paolo rang and he sends you his best wishes’. Then I got up, rang my father and told him, ‘Message received’.
“All this was done because we had a difficult game ahead of us against Dundee United. Going out of the competition would have had serious repercussions.”
Roma raced to a 2-0 half-time lead courtesy of a double from Roberto Pruzzo, cancelling out first-leg strikes by Davie Dodds and Derek Stark.
The crucial goal was a 58th-minute penalty converted by Agostino di Bartolomei, a troubled character who would commit suicide on the 10th anniversary of his side’s defeat to Liverpool by shooting himself.
McLean added: "I had angered the Italian press following the first leg when one of their reporters had asked if we were on drugs after our 2-0 win. I joked that if we were I hoped we were still on them for the next game.
"That translated in the Italian press that we were using drugs and only added to the hostility.
"Walter Smith and our reserve keeper, John Gardiner, took punches to the ribs and back as they protected me from Roma players and officials as I walked off the pitch at the end of the second leg.
"I was obsessed only with our performance, not looking for excuses, so never thought about blaming the referee.
I had my hopes set on Spurs getting an Italian team in the last 8 to be honest, this is disappointing news
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Roma would have been the softest of soft touches to draw alright.
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It was a Portuguese side that knocked out Roma. Are you suggesting Portuguese football is corrupt?
I thought this was the sole bailiwick of Italian sides?
I’m suggesting UEFA are though Porto definitely had a lad playing for them last night who was doped up to his eyeballs.
Milan 2 - 3 Inter 72 mins gone. Entertaining .
Why do Italian strikers tend to peak in their mid 30s? I was totally obsessed with Fabio Quagliarella in my younger days and I notice today reading yesterdays times sport he’s scored 22 goals this season. Luca Toni is another fella that scored a heap of goals in his mid 30s. I think montellas highest scoring season was in his 30s too. There’s other examples as well.
I’d extend that to Italian players in general. Seem to last well into their 30s. Look at Pirlo, Totti, Chielini, Zambrotta, Del Piero etc etc. They tend to play to a very slow, controlled tempo which maybe suits that. Their defenders tend to be excellent at taking up positions limiting the amount of tracking or covering they have to do. They don’t punt the ball away for the sake of it but hold it, and let the other team do the work.
Di Natalie is another fella who peaked towards the end of his career. That’s true to an extent. Fabio grosso scored one of my favorite goals of all time and he was another fella that started playing well in his 30s.
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an amazing goal
The greatest ever. Canarravo winning the header from his clearance is class.
the last 5 mins of that game were just superb
The whole match was incredible
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That was an amazing Italian team.
Nice little barney on Sky between Allegri and Adani tonight. It reminded me of Christmas Day 2014 when Papa and Salvatore Rinaldi had a heated debate on whether Abruzzese were really Southerners or not.