Fans disgrace Inter but Chelsea march on
AC Milan, provisionally, and Chelsea, definitely, reached the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night when Italian fans disgraced European soccer.
AC Milan, provisionally, and Chelsea, definitely, reached the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night when Italian fans disgraced European soccer.
Milan's match against arch-rivals Inter Milan at their shared San Siro home was abandoned after 73 minutes when Milan's Brazilian keeper Dida was hit by one of dozens of flares thrown by Inter fans angry that a goal was disallowed minutes earlier.
AC Milan were winning 1-0 with 17 minutes to play and were 3-0 ahead on aggregate in the quarter-final tie.
A UEFA spokesman told Reuters the result would stand "provisionally," adding: "the referee and the match delegate have provisionally declared the result a 1-0 win to Milan.
"However, that is provisional. The matter will be decided by the Control and Disciplinary body of UEFA in due course."
Chelsea also encountered more turbulence than expected in Munich but at least it was confined to the pitch where they lost 3-2 to two late goals in the last European match played in the Olympic Stadium as Bayern will be in a new home next season.
However, Chelsea went through to the last four of the competition 6-5 on aggregate and will now meet either Juventus or Liverpool in the semi-finals.
Milan, probably, will face either PSV Eindhoven or Olympique Lyon in the last four if, as expected, UEFA award them the tie.
UEFA could order the second leg to be replayed or just the last 17 minutes but if precedent is anything to go by Milan will be awarded a 3-0 victory and Inter a very heavy fine or a suspension and a banning order.
It is the second time a Champions League match has been abandoned in Italy this season after AS Roma's Group B game against Dynamo Kiev on September 15 was called off at halftime because referee Anders Frisk was hit by an object thrown from the crowd.
Kiev, who had been leading 1-0, were awarded a 3-0 win by UEFA and Roma were told to play their next two European home games behind closed doors.
Dida was hit by one of scores of flares that were thrown down by Inter supporters after the disallowing of a header from Inter midfielder Esteban Cambiasso and German referee Markus Merk was forced to take the players off the field.
Following a wait of over 20 minutes, the match restarted with Dida replaced in goal by Christian Abbiati but after just 30 seconds more flares and bottles were hurled down from the second tier of the North Stand, home to Inter's hardcore ultras.
Merk immediately whistled to end the game and Milan's players had to race towards the tunnel as more missiles rained down.
Juventus host Liverpool in their quarter-final second leg tie on Wednesday and Turin police said on Tuesday they were ready for any possible trouble amid fears Italian fans may seek revenge for the 1985 Heysel Stadium disaster.
A superb strike on the half hour from European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko put Milan in front on the night after Carlo Ancelotti's side, Champions League winners in 2003, had withstood some intense early pressure from Inter.
Ukrainian Shevchenko was lucky to still be on the field after headbutting Inter defender Marco Materazzi during an off the ball incident early in the game -- unseen by Merk.
At the other end, Dida was in superb form before being felled and he produced a brilliant save to keep out Juan Sebastian Veron's early shot.
Although Bayern Munich won the second leg of their quarter-final 3-2, Chelsea scraped through 6-5 on aggregate.
Bayern, seeking to overturn their first-leg defeat in their 100th Champions League match, had three good chances to score in the first half.
However, the only goal before the break was scored by Frank Lampard, whose 30-metre shot took a sharp deflection off Lucio with the ball squirming past Oliver Kahn and into the net.
Chelsea's opening goal from Joe Cole in last week's first leg in London also took a deflection off the Brazilian defender.
Michael Ballack was guilty of Bayern's worst miss, skying the ball high and wide from inside the area.
The German side levelled, however, after 65 minutes when Claudio Pizarro scored from point-blank range when a header from Ballack came back off the post after being parried by Chelsea keeper Peter Cech.
Didier Drogba appeared to have given Chelsea victory with a fine near-post header after 80 minutes but goals from Paulo Guerrero after 90 minutes and Mehmet Scholl four minutes into stoppage time gave Bayern an ultimately hollow victory.