Romelu Lukaku was dramatically cleared to face Juventus in the second leg of Inter's Coppa Italia semi-final as Italian football chiefs rescinded the red card he received for standing up to racist abuse.
An intervention on Saturday from the president of the Italian FA (FIGC), Gabriele Gravina, brought about the cancellation of Lukaku's second yellow card in the first leg of the Juventus tie.
That was despite the FIGC on Friday announcing the ban would stand, which was followed by an outraged response from Inter.
Inter reacted with dismay and "great sorrow" to Friday's ruling, saying it appeared Lukaku had been judged "the only guilty party" despite being the victim.
Gravina's decision to subsequently quash the verdict was warmly welcomed by Lukaku, who said in a statement on Inter's website: "I am really happy about this decision from the president of the FIGC, who has shown great sensitivity to the situation.
"I believe that thanks to his intervention, justice has been done and this sends out a great message to the whole world of sport and beyond. This has shown that the desire is there to fight racism."
The initial decision to uphold the red card and suspension had all the attributes of an embarrassing own goal for the FIGC amid efforts to show they take racism seriously.
Belgian striker Lukaku converted a penalty in the fifth minute of stoppage time to earn Inter a 1-1 draw in the semi-final first leg on April 4 at the Allianz Stadium.
He then used his finger to shush the home fans' vitriol and that reaction was deemed a bookable offence by referee Davide Massa. Lukaku had already been booked for a foul in the 80th minute, so the second yellow card saw him dismissed.
The Inter frontman, who is on loan from Chelsea, subsequently demanded action from Italian authorities after the latest case of him being targeted for abuse, while team-mate Edin Dzeko described the treatment from the Juventus fans as something "that should never happen".
FIFA president Gianni Infantino labelled the abuse "unacceptable" and called for those responsible to be punished.
A partial stadium closure was initially imposed on Juventus as a result of Lukaku being targeted, with the section from where the abuse came ordered to be shut for one game, but that decision was overturned, without an explanation being offered.
The second leg will take place on Wednesday at San Siro, and Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi will be relieved to have Lukaku available.
Saturday's apparent common sense decision from the FIGC was announced in a statement to Italian media, which announced Lukaku had been pardoned "in an exceptional and extraordinary way".
The FIGC statement added: "The principle of the fight against all forms of racism is a fundamental element of the sports system."
Fonseca urges Milan to take more risks after lifeless Juventus draw
Paulo Fonseca urged Milan to take more risks in future and sympathised with the fans who booed his players after an unexciting goalless draw with Juventus.
The two sides played out a game that included just three shots on target - one fell to Milan and two to Juve - while a chorus of boos greeted the full-time whistle.
Milan have not scored in two home matches in a row in Serie A for the first time since October-November 2023 (vs Juventus and Udinese in that case).
"When you don't win, and after a match like this, maybe if I was a fan I'd do the same," Fonseca told DAZN.
"I'm not a defender of this and I understand the fans perfectly."
Milan's only real chance before the break came through Emerson Royal, who headed wide of the near post after a corner, while a weak Theo Hernandez header straight at Michele Di Gregorio in added time was their only effort on target.
They registered just two shots in the first half, and only three times before have they managed less (on record from 2004-05), with two of those instances also coming against Juve.
"It was a very tactical match. The team had too much respect for Juve and Juve too much respect for us," Fonseca said.
"We know that Juve defend very well, it is not easy to have opportunities against them and those we had to attack we did not exploit well.
"We could have done something more offensively, we made a mistake in the last pass and we never took risks. It is not easy against Juve, but when we have the opportunity, we have to do better in the final decisions.
"The team always had the will to play safe but, if we want to score, we have to take more risks. Normally, we always create different situations. Today the team didn't take any offensive risks."
When asked if seventh-placed Milan - on 19 points with a game in hand - still stood a chance in the title battle, Fonseca responded affirmatively.
"It's difficult for other people, but I still believe. There are still many games and other teams can lose points," he said.
Motta 'satisfied' despite drab goalless draw at Milan
While Juventus' 0-0 draw with Milan offered little entertainment at San Siro, Thiago Motta was happy with his side's performance.
The scoreless draw brought little in the way of chances for either side but it allowed Juventus to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, where they have kept 10 clean sheets in 13 games.
Motta became just the fifth Juventus manager to not lose any of his first 13 matches on the Bianconeri bench in Serie A history (W6 D7) – after Jesse Carver, Cestmir Vycpalek, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
The match only included three shots on target, with only one of those falling to Milan as they struggled to trouble their visitors.
"I am satisfied with the work we have done, especially defensively," Motta told DAZN.
"We didn't concede anything to the opponents; open play is their strong point, and we managed to block them."
Juve have drawn seven of their league games already this season but Motta was content to take another point considering the growing injury list he has to contend with.
Dusan Vlahovic missed the trip to Milan with a muscle problem picked up while on international duty and Juve were already without Arkadiusz Milik, Nicolas Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal and Bremer.
"This point can give continuity to us for our work. I'm proud of my players because in the situation we are in we put in a good performance," Motta added.
"I am satisfied with tonight's work and many things. So far we have to be happy, the path is the right one."
Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi says Joaquin Correa "showed what he can do" as he inspired Inter to a 5-0 win at Verona on Saturday.
The Argentine made his first start of the season, scoring a goal, registering two assists and striking the woodwork twice, as he stepped in for the absent Lautaro Martinez and helped Inter move top of the table.
Each of Correa's three away goals for Inter in Serie A have come at the Bentegodi against Verona, while he both scored and assisted in a single Serie A match for only the second time, after July 2020, for Lazio against Brescia.
"Correa deserved this chance for how he's been working since June, he showed what he can do," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"I'm happy for him. In addition to being a great player, he's a good guy who continued with his work despite some mistrust."
Inter scored at least five goals in the first half of an away league game for only the second time in their history in Serie A, after their 5-1 win against Sampdoria in the first 45 minutes of play back in March 1964.
Last season, Correa was sent on a one-year loan to Marseille and was expected to leave Inter for good as the French club had an option to buy the player.
Upon his return, the 30-year-old made three appearances in the first 12 league games, entering from the bench at Monza, Udinese and Roma before he was selected to pair up with Marcus Thuram from the start against Verona.
Correa opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a chipped finish after a precise pass from Thuram. He then returned the favour and teed the Frenchman up to double the lead in the 22nd, before setting up Yann Bisseck for the fifth before the break.
"It wasn't difficult because my team-mates helped me and were happy when I scored," Correa said.
"I wanted to do the back heel for Bisseck, but there was also a bit of luck. There are a lot of good guys here, we have to continue like this."
Inter next host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, and they may still be without Martinez, who fell sick when he returned from international duty.
"We need to see how the virus evolves," Inzaghi said. "Last night he had chills and this morning he had a fever of almost 38 degrees.
"I had [the same virus] too, skipping training on Monday and Tuesday. In any case, he would have been [resting] on the bench today even if he had been here. We'll see."
Martinez scored in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (2-1) and Peru (1-0).
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