The name Byron Moreno remains a nightmare for Italy fans and players, but 20 years on the referee of that South Korea game insists it was ‘one of the best performances of my career,’ even if he has just one regret.
The elimination in the Round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea remains a blight on the Azzurri, less for the result itself and more the way it came about.
Ecuadorian referee Moreno and his assistants made a series of controversial decisions that favoured the host nation in June 2002, including two goals disallowed for extremely dubious offside rulings, a penalty for the hosts, a spot-kick not given to Italy and Francesco Totti sent off for two bookable offences.
Adding insult to injury, the second yellow card was for simulation rather than the penalty he thought he deserved.
“After all this time, I still receive insults on social media from Italian fans, but my conscience is clear,” Moreno told La Gazzetta dello Sport.
He is now the host of a television programme analysing refereeing errors, though his story since that day hasn’t exactly helped his reputation.
Moreno was expelled from both FIFA and the Ecuadorian referees in 2003 after giving 13 minutes of stoppages and a contentious penalty to give Liga Quito victory, the club where he was running for Mayor in their town.
“There were stoppages, a referee has to take those into account when giving injury time.”
In September 2010, Moreno was arrested at JFK Airport in New York carrying 6kg of heroin.
“That was an ugly day in my career. Everyone knows why I did it, I was threatened and forced to carry the heroin. My wife's life was in danger.”
When it comes to Italy's match against South Korea, the disgraced official has only one regret.
“The referee, especially at that time before VAR, has a split second to choose and act. I have no concerns, because I know none of my refereeing decisions influenced the result of that game.
“For example, the Totti red card was one of the most criticised incidents, but if you look at the video, the Korean player gets the ball first. The Italian trips and falls, trying to simulate a foul, which is why he was booked for the second time.
“The rules call for a yellow card for simulation. I respected the rules and the images are clear. Totti doesn’t even protest, it's Christian Vieri and Angelo Di Livio who complain.
“If a player is punished and does not protest, he knows he's in the wrong. That was Totti’s attitude when he saw the red card.”
However, that incident was in extra time, whereas Moreno reveals he does have one regret from that day.
“Sun-Hon Hwang cuts down Gianluca Zambrotta at the 72nd minute and he was forced off through injury. That is the only situation that made me reflect over the years. Going back, I would've given a red card to the Korean player.
“I am only human, I misjudged the intensity of the challenge at the time. What you can be certain of is that I never wanted to favour or go against any particular team.”
When it comes to the Damiano Tommasi goal ruled offside incorrectly, Moreno pins all the blame on his linesman at the time, Jorge Ratallino.
Despite admitting to those mistakes, Moreno still considers Italy-South Korea to be “one of my top three career refereeing performances. I’d give myself an 8.5 out of 10.
“Italy made mistakes that day, Giovanni Trapattoni shouldn't have introduced Gennaro Gattuso rather than a striker. That’s when Italy lost the game.”