Spitting images earn hot Totti three match ban

JUST AS his World Cup ended in shame, Italy's golden boy Francesco Totti has fallen from grace once again, this time at Euro 2004.

Shown the red card for diving in the Azzurri's shock second round defeat to South Korea two years ago, the 27-year-old striker was banned for three matches by UEFA yesterday for spitting in the face of Denmark's Christian Poulsen in Italy's first game of the tournament.

Totti will lose his starting place to Andrea Pirlo of AC Milan for today's crunch match against the Swedes in Porto and will only return if the Italians reach the semi finals.

Hailed as Italy's best number 10 since the legendary Gianni Rivera, Totti can do little wrong in the eyes of the Italian public and barely a day goes by when his face is not plastered all over the country's sports' dailies.

But despite his superstar status in Serie A, the talismanic Roma captain has yet to fulfil predictions of greatness on the international stage.

After receiving his suspension yesterday, Totti insisted his actions on Monday were totally out of character. "I am very distressed about what happened. I ask the public to forgive me," he said. "I don't remember the incident seen in this video. I would like you to know this was not the true Francesco Totti, it was another."

William Gaillard, UEFA's director of communications, said that after consulting the parties concerned with the incident he explained that UEFA's control and disciplinary body had elected to hand down a three-match ban, despite four-match bans being the precedent for such cases.

"The body considered the player's admission of guilt, the particular circumstances and the gravity of the event," said Gaillard, who said that whereas in the case of Champions League and UEFA Cup matches a four-match ban had previously been the norm UEFA had this time opted for three.

"The admission of guilt and the fact this is a short tournament were taken into consideration. The decision may be appealed within 24 hours. It's for them to decide," he added, warning the ban could even be increased on appeal," Gaillard said.

"We will not tolerate this kind of behaviour. We did not tolerate it in the past, we will not tolerate it in the future," he insisted.

The player earlier arrived to hear his fate flanked by Francesco Girelli, the general manager of the Italian Football Federation, lawyers Guilia Bongiorno and Mario Galavotti and a clutch of other officials from the Italian delegation. Totti left the hotel without speaking pursued by hordes of journalists and cameramen.

Bongiorno said Totti was full of remorse about what he had done but felt it unfair that a camera had specifically been trained on him during the game, which he saw as tantamount to an unjustified invasion of privacy.

"He is a sensitive individual. But he recognises that what he did constituted unsporting behaviour," Bongiorno said. Even before the current storm over Totti, Italian media had led calls for Pirlo to be drafted into the team following Italy's failure to break down the Danes. The spitting incident apart, Totti ignited further controversy with the Danes when he discarded his boots in the early stages saying it felt as if he was walking on hot sand.

The striker exercised an emergency clause in his contract saying he could use other boots if those used by the national side caused extreme discomfort. He was also culpable of a terrible studs-up tackle on Danish defender Rene Henriksen in the closing stages of the game that brought him a yellow card which many thought should have been red.

"He shouldn't have done it. He should be ashamed," said Italian Alessandro Petricca. "I'm a Roma fan but the damage caused by a star like him is twice as bad as if he were only a normal player. I'm angry at him."

The Danish Football Association (DBU) made an official complaint to UEFA following the release of images showing Totti clearly spitting in the face of midfielder Poulsen.

"Personally I've never been spat at but I can imagine how humiliating it would be," said Denmark captain Rene Henriksen. "Even if it doesn't do permanent damage to a player it certainly sends the wrong signal to the people watching."

The case recalled an ugly incident at the 1990 World Cup when Dutchman Frank Rijkaard spat at Germany forward Rudi Voeller in a match in Milan. Voeller, now Germany's coach, said: "It was out of order. Totti is a great player and a vital one for Italy."

Former midfielder Guenter Netzer, part of Germany's 1972 European Championship winners, said: "It's the most disgusting thing there is. He was quite rightly punished for it."

Totti is a rarity in modern soccer being a local boy playing for the club he supported as a boy. He made his debut for Roma as a 16-year-old in 1993 and has long been an idol of the ultras in the Curve Sud, the home of the hardcore fans in the south end of Rome's Olympic stadium.

Roman fans believe he is more sinned against than sinner in Serie A, putting up with huge amounts of provocation from defenders. He is not as popular in other Italian cities where his Roman accent and rough-and-ready manner earned him the reputation for being slow-witted and made him the butt of countless jokes.

On the occasion of his sending off against South Korea in 2002 he was forgiven by his fellow Italians and seen as an innocent victim of poor refereeing. He is unlikely to get such a sympathetic response this time.