Paris 2024 Olympics, Settebello knocked out after protest
Italy-Spain 9-11
Settebello protest. The Azzurri line up with their backs to the jury at the moment of the national anthem. Condemi wins the sprint for the first ball in the middle with Spain symbolically stopping. Coach Campagna calls time-out and replaces the forward, who returns to the bench wearing overalls. He will no longer re-enter the tank to simulate 12 players on the scoreboard. Di Fulvio is absent from the game to replay four actual minutes of numerical inferiority. Clear message.
The match with Spain, worth the final for the fifth place of the Olympics, è an act of indignation against the referee injustice suffered in the quarterfinals, when Condemi è was ejected for violent play because heé shot on goal (momentary 3-3) hitting the Magyar defender at the end of the arm movement. A very normal game contact, which referees and VAR turned into a colossal interpretative error: goal annulled, penalty for Hungary that made it 4-2, Italian player sent off and Azzurri with a man less for 4 minutes. Olympic game ruined amid booing from the crowd. Absolute and inexcusable disrespect for water polo.
Meanwhile, the TAS rejected the appeal filed by the Italian Swimming Federation, which is waiting for the reasons. Meanwhile the Management Committee of the World Acquatics denied referees, delegates and VAR, admitting that Condemi did not commit violence (brutalityà) therefore he would not have suffered days of disqualification. On the document received from the Italian Swimming Federation è it was written that "after taking into consideration the circumstances of the case and reviewing the available video of the action, the Management Committee cannot conclude that there was malicious intent in the act of pulling the ball by Mr. Condemi, whose hand struck the opponent's face. Therefore, Mr. Condemi will not be excluded from further matches in the tournament for this action". Previously, the first two appeals had been dismissed on contradictory grounds.
