Premier League referees' chief Keith Hackett said that the goal Van Nistelrooy scored was okay after all.He looked a mile offside when he knocked the ball past Buffon.
But it appears he was played onside by defender Christian Panucci, who was lying off the pitch at the time.Take a look at the picture.

Since I'm in an "uploading-pictures" kind of mood, here are selected snapshots of Euro 2008's France vs. Italy match two days ago. Emphasis on "selected" (i.e. by me, because I thought they were funny and because I just can). Also, since every self-respecting picture should include a caption, I have provided two for each.

There's an old 1962 movie with Charlton Heston (don't ask me how I know that) that has a very appropriate title for this match: "The Pigeon That Took Rome". CFR Cluj being the pigeon, a.k.a the David that no one knew but who at his first UCL appearance defeated the big Roma Goliath. Italian manager [.

Italian sports newspapers Gazzetta dello Sport rated the Azzurri players at the end of their European adventure. Along with Gigi Buffon, positive scores were obtained by Chiellini and Grosso. All the strikers flunked the test, while some midfielders could have done better. The overall form however, was never great.

Quite the little controversy over Ruud van Nistelrooy's goal yesterday. RvN was blatantly beyond the Italian line of defence when connecting with Giovanni van Bronkhurst's shot/pass, but the big question was whether RvN was being played onside by Christian Panucci or not. Panucci had been knocked off on his arse the field and by his own keeper Buffon.

In accordance to the UEFA-imposed May 28 deadline, Italian coach Roberto Donadoni has made his final roster selection for Euro 2008: the 23 players who will representing the Azzurri this Summer have been picked and as many expected, Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo was the player discarded from the manager's Pre-selection list.

Roma 3 - 1 Chelsea Game Highlights Highlights  individual goal highlights can also be found at SAPO UEFA.COM MAGAZINE INTERVIEW with Luciano Spalletti AS Roma's Luciano Spalletti says hosting the UEFA Champions League final in Rome gives his side extra motivation Bookmark to:

Italy have received the late boost that Fabio Cannavaro will be able to give a captain's contribution from the dug-out.

The Azzurri skipper, who is already on the road to recovery following last Wednesday's ankle operation, has been given the go-ahead by UEFA to participate in Euro 2008 from the bench.

...And as if by magic, the Dutch and the Italians arrived. Barely half an hour after I finished writing about a match that was described (accurately) by Alan Hansen as "one of the worst games of football I've ever seen", they kicked off in Berne for a match that has finally kicked some life into the body of Euro 2008.

VIENNA - Italy go into tonight's game with Romania desperate for a win after getting thumped 3-0 by the Dutch in their opening game. Coach Roberto Donadoni looks certain to bow to public demand by ditching his unsuccessful 4-3-3 formation and bringing in old favourite Alessandro Del Piero to support Luca Toni in attack.

Italy 1-1 Romania. The Azzurri ain't out of Euro 2008 just yet, but there's not much keeping them in. Their defence is still shaky, the midfield looked a little better but quickly ran out of ideas (especially Pirlo), and Luca Toni still cruelly remains goalless. Well... to be honest he did score today, but the [.

Italy 1, Romania 1
Holland 4, France 1
Any questions? Holland continued their dream run through the Group of Death with a 4-1 win over France. The win clinches the top spot in Group C for Marco Van Basten's men after a sweep of the finalists from the 2006 World Cup. As they did in their opener, Holland took the early lead but never let up on the pressure.

From BBC (re. van Nistelrooy's goals vs. Italy)
But what looked a desperately poor decision was, in fact, a brilliant piece of officiating, according to the chairman of Austria's refereeing commission Gerhard Kapl and Premier League referees' chief Keith Hackett.
Both said Van Nistelrooy was played onside by Italy's Christian Panucci, who had been injured seconds earlier and was lying behind the goal when the Dutch striker scored.

Marcos Senna is being celebrated as a find, a player finally giving teeth to the much maligned Spanish defence, a noteworthy ally in its potent attack. But he is in a minority because this Euro shone a spotlight on the number of flatfooted defenses which became red meat for swift counter attacks.

If not for defender Christian Panucci poaching a goal and keeper Gigi Buffon making a fabulous penalty save, the World Champions would already be packing for home. Highlights from the Italy vs. Romania match on Day 7 Footytube Italy 1 -1 Romania Italy: Buffon; Zambrotta, Panucci, Chiellini, Grosso; Camoranesi (Ambrosini 85), Pirlo, De Rossi, Perrotta (Cassano 56); Del Piero

NEL MOMENTO PIÙ DIFFICILE,PARLA LA MATRIARCA GIALLOROSSA
«Voleremo insieme alla Roma»
Maria Sensi: «A Bordeaux io o Rosella torneremo a seguire la squadra in trasferta. Ci
riprenderemo. Alla messa m'aspettavo più tifosi, ma la famiglia romanista c'era tutta»
Di PIETRO TRIA
«A Bordeaux, io o mia figlia Rosella torneremo
a seguire la squadra in trasferta
».

Will Juventus be ready for visitors Palermo? Check the Serie A On TV page for local Serie A coverage. Bookmark to:

God bloody darnit!! :(((((((( The Azzurri's first day in Austria started in the worst possible way Monday: captain Fabio Cannavaro picked up a knock as he challenged the ball with teammate Giorgio Chiellini, and the late prognosis indicates what everyone had been fearing but dared not to think about: ligament damage to the left ankle, Cannavaro [.

Los campeones del mundo sufrieron bastante para igualar a un tanto contra el conjunto de Rumania, los goles fueron obra de Adrian Mutu al 55 y un minuto después igualó Christian Panucci. El árbitro anuló una anotación que era válida al goleador italiano, Luca Toni, y al minuto 81 marcó un penal a favor de Rumania, [.

Italy 1, Romania 1
Holland 4, France 1
Any questions? Holland continued their dream run through the Group of Death with a 4-1 win over France. The win clinches the top spot in Group C for Marco Van Basten's men after a sweep of the finalists from the 2006 World Cup. As they did in their opener, Holland took the early lead but continued to press from there.

Forget that Group C is the 'Group of Death,' I AM THE KISS OF DEATH!!

Not only has Italy failed to win a game so far but in every other game that I wanted a team to win - they haven't!!

In yesterday's games Chelsea players past and present had significant contributions.

As Holland and Italy gear up for their opening Group C match against each other, both teams are suffering from fresh injury setbacks. As reported earlier in the week, Italy's leader Fabio Cannavaro is out. Robin van Persie has been ruled out for the Dutch as well. Today, fans of Holland will be devastated to find out that Arjen Robben has now been ruled out due to injury.

IL TERZINO HA PARLATO A "GUARDA CHE LUPA",IL CENTRALE A SKY SPORT 24:DOMANI POTREBBE TOCCARE NUOVAMENTE A LORO
Panucci:«Non sarà una partita facile»
«Il calcio romeno ha tradizione, ed hanno molti sudamericani». Loria: «Mi farò trovare pronto»
Di FRANCESCO ODDI
«Il nostro non è un girone facile, e la squadra
romena non va sottovalutata.

Man, I never woulda had Roma losing to Cluj, a Romanian side, at home.
Christian Panucci had the favored side up 1-0 with a header in the 17th minute, but Emmanuel Culio bagged the next two with goals at 28' and 49' to give the visitors a shocking win.
It wasn't undeserved either, the underdogs played well enough to win and deserved the three points in Group A.

Third time's the charm for AS Roma. After the (bad) draw vs. Napoli on matchday 1, the (worse) loss vs. Palermo on matchday 2 (and the disaster vs. CFR Cluj in the UEFA Champions League), the Giallorossi can smile again. Three unanswered goals will do that to ya... On the grass of the Stadio Olimpico of [.