"I scored the winning goal for Venezia and yet everybody, not just the Bari players, got angry with me. In my country, you always go looking for a win yet here my teammates were happy to settle for the 1-1 draw. It was not difficult to understand this since Maniero said it to me just as soon as I came on to the field . . . telling me that I was not to score, that it would be better if the game finished 1-1."
This quote is from Tuta, the 25-year-old Brazilian striker with Venezia, and the match referred to is last week's Italian Serie A game in which Venezia pulled off a 2-1 home win thanks to his stoppage time winner. The Brazilian's controversial comments have sparked off two on-going investigations into alleged match fixing. But the investigators may have difficulty identifying the border line between "settling for a draw" and "match fixing".
Since their return to Serie A this season after a 32-year absence, newly promoted Venezia have rarely made the headlines. Last week, however, they were front page news following the storm provoked by Tuta's allegations that his teammate, striker Filippo Maniero, told him not to score. The Venezia and Bari players and officials immediately denied any wrong doing while striker Maniero said that Tuta had simply misunderstood him. Maniero claims he told the Brazilian to cover back and concentrate on defending, adding that he did not instruct him not to score.
Be that as it may, once Tuta made those allegations the studious re-assessment of the match began to unearth some oddities. Firstly, there was the lack of enthusiasm with which Tuta's companions greeted his goal.
The victory came at the end of a week when a draw with champions Juventus and a win against Empoli had garnered seven useful points, lifting Venezia out of the relegation zone. Tuta's goal might therefore have been expected to prompt celebrations from his teammates as seven points in seven days would suggest that, rather than being destined for a return to Serie B, Venezia might survive in Serie A after all.
Strangely enough, however, extensive photographic and video evidence shows two Venezia players standing hands on hips, looking disconsolate when the winning goal was scored. Furthermore, the Venezia celebrations afterwards seem subdued with only Tuta's compatriot, defender Bilica, rushing to congratulate him.
A number of other questions also need to be answered. Why did the Venezia coach Walter Novellino greet his opposite number Eugenio Fascetti with a thumbs-up as the two teams returned at half-time? What was the nature of the angry exchanges between Bari defender Duccio Innocenti and Maniero immediately after the final whistle? Why did two Bari players, Gionathon Spinesi and Gaetano De Rosa, attempt to come to blows with Tuta in the tunnel after the match? What exactly did Maniero say to Tuta when he came on as a 77th minute substitute?
Those questions prompted the Italian federation's investigations office to take action, opening up an inquiry the day after Tuta's comments. The case has also attracted the attention of the state judiciary, with the Venice state prosecutor's office opening up its own inquiry. Given that Venezia v Bari featured on the "Totocalcio Schedina" (football pools) both teams will be investigated with a view to "sporting fraud".
It could well be, however, that this affair will blow over. A pre-match plot to "fix" a draw is one thing but an on-field situation where two sides settle for a draw is another matter altogether.
