It was the non-call that is still ingrained in the mind of every football fan in Italy: The penalty that caused never-ending controversy, televised debates and even inspired conspiracy theories.
Twenty years later, Ronaldo confirms that at the time he thought that the whole Serie A tournament was rigged.
On April 26 1998, Inter Milan was trailing by one point from Juventus and traveled to Turin for the biggest Scudetto showdown of those years.
History reminds us that thanks to a Del Piero goal, Juventus managed to keep Inter at bay and win the tournament, but what is still alive in the Italian football fans' memory is the infamous 'Mark Iuliano tackle' to Ronaldo.
To add insult to injury, after ignoring that suspicious body check from Iuliano, referee Piero Ceccarini awarded a penalty to Juventus one minute later.
It is a memory still fresh for Ronaldo, who has just arrived in Australia to announce "Real Madrid World of Football Experience", a five-year global tour which will start next June from Melbourne.
"That was exactly my feeling", Ronaldo replied when SBS Italian asked him if he thought the tournament was rigged.
"Two weeks ago I was in Milan and got asked a similar question" added O Fenômeno, "In my time we played not only against other teams, but we played against a very corrupt system. After two seasons (
ed.the so called Calciopoli scandal started in 2006) people went to jail, Juventus was relegated to Serie C (ed. Serie B)."
Ronaldo then reflected on what football should be for players and fans. "Football is a pure sport, we have to keep it clean. People around the world love to watch football because they have enough problems in life, and football has to be something good for them."
Prompted on if Iuliano's body check was a penalty, Ronaldo smiled and confirmed "For sure".
Is it? Judge for yourself with this twenty year old clip from Youtube.
