Extreme Football Forum  |  Football Forums  |  General Football Forum  |  Topic: Serie A

ESPN Soccernet
Inter Milan returned to the top of Serie A for the first time since winning the title last May with a 1-0 victory over Cagliari, but only after the referee threatened to halt the game following racist chanting against Samuel Eto'o.

The abuse did not have any effect on the Cameroon striker, though, and he scored the only goal of the game in the 39th minute to take the Nerazzurri level with AC Milan at the top of the table.

The game had only just got under way when referee Paolo Tagliavento halted play. He had heard racist chants from the crowd aimed at Eto'o and requested an announcement was made over the public address system threatening the suspension of the game.

The calls had clearly not got to the Cameroon international, or perhaps they had inspired him to score the decisive goal with a touch of class. He controlled the ball and turned inside onto his left foot before shooting past Michael Agazzi from 20 yards.

After the match Cagliari president Massimo Cellini said he thought Tagliavento was wrong to stop the game, claiming he had misunderstood the reaction of the fans. "It was certainly an error of judgment,'' Cellini told Rai television. "Racist incidents do not happen here in Cagliari. I can exclude that categorically. Our fans are not like that.''

SkySports

Serie A leaders Lazio made it four wins in a row by edging out Cagliari as Inter Milan, Juventus and Roma were all held.

Lazio maintained their excellent start to the campaign by holding on for a 2-1 home victory over Cagliari.

Sergio Floccari gave Lazio the lead midway through the first half and the advantage was doubled eight minutes after the break by Stefano Mauri.

Cagliari pulled one back just before the hour mark through Alessandro Matri, but Lazio stood firm to record another three points.

Vincenzo Iaquinta saw a first-half penalty saved as Juventus were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw away to struggling Bologna.

Roma also met with frustration on their travels after playing out a 0-0 stalemate with bottom club Parma.

Cyril Thereau scored an injury-time winner as Chievo Verona posted a 2-1 home success over 10-man Cesena.

Bostjan Cesar gave Chievo a 31st minute lead, but Roberto Guana's own goal in first-half stoppage-time drew Cesena level.

Steve von Bergen was sent off for the visitors in the 88th minute and Thereau pounced for Chievo's winner a minute into injury-time.

Marco Rossi scored midway through the second half to earn Genoa a 1-0 home win over Catania which allowed them to leapfrog their opponents in the table.

Udinese hung on with 10 men to beat Palermo 2-1 at home - a result which also lifts the club out of the relegation zone.

Medhi Benatia put Udinese ahead after just nine minutes and Antonio Di Natale's 54th minute penalty had the home team in command.

However, Andrea Coda was sent off on 65 minutes and Mauricio Pinilla's 83rd minute goal for Palermo set up a nervy finale.

Lecce also picked up a much-needed three points after coming from behind to see off Brescia 2-1 at home.

Andrea Caracciolo put Brescia ahead on 19 minutes, but second-half goals from Edward Ofere and David Di Michele earned Lecce the points.

In the final game of the day, champions Inter Milan had to come from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at home to Sampdoria.

Stefano Guberti's volley from Antonio Cassano's cross opened the scoring just after the hour mark, but in-form Nerazzurri striker Samuel Eto'o poked home with 10 minutes remaining to level things up and earn a point.

Inter are now second in the table, four points behind leaders Lazio, while Samp drop to eighth.

BBC

Serie A clubs have unanimously rejected a proposal to reopen talks with the player's association to avoid a strike.

Italian Football Federation president Giancarlo Abete, acting as a mediator, advised setting aside key sticking points in a bid to revive negotiations.

But Serie A president Maurizio Beretta called Abete's proposal "unacceptable", saying all issues should be discussed.

The players' body has warned that strike action will be called if a new deal is not in place by 30 November.

A collective contract between the Italian Players' Association (AIC) and Serie A guaranteeing players' rights expired in the summer.

One of the main sticking points in the dispute is a proposal by clubs to limit the rights of their players to refuse to be transferred.

The clubs want the right to insist that when a player has a year remaining on his contract, he must accept a transfer to a club of equal standing that guarantees him the same financial treatment.

They propose that if the player does not agree to move he must instead come to a deal over his contract with his current employers.

In September, the two sides reached an agreement in to avoid a strike on the third weekend of that month.