Trying times for Didulica

Ozren Podnar reports...

USA | Japan

"I cannot believe they're going to try me over a foul"

Australo-Croatian goalkeeper Joseph Didulica cannot seem to comprehend the motives for the Austrian Public Attorney's decision to prosecute him for a foul committed during a soccer game last spring.

Austria Vienna's Didulica recklessly launched his knee and shin in the direction of the advancing Rapid's Axel Lawaree with severe consequences for the Belgian. Lawaree suffered a broken nose and contusions, but returned to action in a matter of days.

Croatia's reserve keeper thought that the eight-match ban he subsequently served was the worst punishment that could befall on him, but eight months later Austria's legal system announced it had yet to deal with the perpetrator of the extraordinarily rough tackle.

Prison for a foul?

Didulica has been notified he has been indicted for inflicting serious bodily injuries by extreme negligence, for which the maximum penalty is three years in prison.

Although it is highly unlikely the 28-year-old will be jailed at all even if he is found guilty as charged, the very trial has upset him, since he believes that no action on the field should be subject to prosecution.

"I cannot believe that a duel between footballers could end up in court," says Didulica, whose Croatian descent made him eligible to play in the red and white chequered shirts.
"After the incident the police sent me to an investigating judge, who it turns out forwarded the case to the court. It seems I did something utterly terrible."

Didulica, so it seems, does not believe in a fair trial.
"In Austria all sort of things are possible, including my being treated as a criminal. Anything could happen to a foreigner there. The media, for instance, wrote that I was crazy and that I ought to seek therapy."

Not all Austrians are against Didulica, naturally. While Rapid fans declared him enemy number one, their Austria Vienna counterparts have idolized him ever since the brutal assault on Lawaree.

Didulica tried to apologize personally to Lawaree, but the Belgian refused twice, saying that he would like to see his aggressor convicted.
"How many times did I have my nose broken and how many times did an opponent hit me when I had the ball? I always accepted a handshake and I never brought charges against anybody. And Lawaree did not even suffer from concussion," adds Didulica, grateful to Austria Vienna for having renewed his contract in the middle of the hysteria surrounding his blow on Lawaree's face.

Curiously, a week after it was announced Didulica would be tried, there was another serious injury involving a goalkeeper, only this time the goalkeeper drew the shortest straw.

Prosecution for all soccer bullies

Werder's Andreas Reinke sustained severe head and face injuries in a collision with Stuttgart's Martin Stranzl, incidentally an Austrian (!) international. Reinke was hospitalized and given emergency surgery for various fractures on his skull.

Though his recovery could take between six and eight weeks, Stranzl was not even yellow-carded by the referee, let alone interrogated by the police. Did the Austrian press call for criminal charges against their fellow countryman, consistently with the stance it took in Didulica case? No, of course not. Neither did the German press, for all we know.

But, maybe the soccer bullies should be prosecuted. And not only bullies, but all reckless tacklers as well. Would not the world have been a better place if Toni Schumacher had stood trial for that horrific tackle on Patrick Battiston in Seville during the 1982 World Cup? Was not Vinnie Jones's firm grip on Gazza's testicles in 1987 worth an investigation? How about Sevilla's Dr. Pablo Alfaro's on-field rectal examination of Atlético's Toché? Ok, we know that Alfaro is a medical doctor (really!), but it was established he was not on call that evening in Madrid.

If the cases barring criminal intent or extreme negligence should not see the courtroom, why wouldn't FIFA introduce draconic measures for all those who imperil other players' health?

Even if an injury turns out to be a result of an accident, rather than of an intent to hurt, why would the player causing that injury be allowed to play while his victim is in recovery? Or, indeed, until twice the time that the injury takes to heal has elapsed.

In the end, it all boils down to one question: what kind of soccer is generally more preferable, the one with more Marco van Bastens and Ronaldos or with more Schumachers, Didulicas or Alfaros?

Ozren Podnar