Italy play Ecuador this evening and to fans of a certain age, that country brings back memories of 2002 World Cup referee Byron Moreno, whose story went from scandalous to downright bizarre.
The Azzurri take to the field at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey at 20.00 GMT against Ecuador in an international friendly this evening.
It was almost 22 years ago, but the name Byron Moreno remains etched in the minds of many Italy supporters, who will forever feel traumatised by his role in their exit from the 2002 World Cup Round of 16 against hosts South Korea.
As if having the Golden Goal wasn’t painful enough – two years after suffering at the feet of this stupid FIFA idea in the Euro 2000 Final – the 117 minutes that preceded it felt like one long mockery.
If ever there was an explanation for why VAR exists today, refereeing performances like this would be high on the list.
Moreno and his impassively smug face waved cards at Italian players, awarded a soft spot-kick, ignored elbows in faces from South Koreans inside the penalty area, sent off Francesco Totti for simulation when he was caught in the box, then disallowed two goals for very debatable offside calls.
FIFA’s investigation found no wrongdoing, but the rest of Byron Moreno’s ‘career’ does raise a few questions.
Just a year later, he was expelled by both FIFA and the Ecuadorian referees association after playing 13 minutes of stoppages (having originally awarded six minutes) and a dubious penalty to give Liga Quito victory – when he was running for Mayor in their town – overturning their 3-2 result to win 4-3.
In September 2010, Moreno was arrested at JFK Airport in New York carrying 6kg of heroin, leading to a prison sentence, though he was released early after 26 months for good behaviour in December 2012.