Lazio striker Miroslav Klose has become the centre of praise from his footballing colleagues following a remarkable act of honesty in which he confessed to scoring a goal with his hand during last night’s showdown with Serie A rivals Napoli.
The German international appeared to have opened the scoring at the San Paolo stadium in Naples in the fourth minute of the game when he notched the ball home from a corner.
Immediately however the Napoli players were outraged, surrounding the referee with protests of handball and it was here that Klose showed the football world his spirit of integrity, confessing to the referee that he had indeed guided the ball past Napoli goalkeeper Morgan De Sanctis with his hand. As result the referee chalked off the goal rightfully and, unfortunately for Klose, Lazio went on to lose the game 3-0.
Nevertheless, Klose’s honesty has since been praised: “Bravo Miro Klose,” Fifa President Sepp Blatter said on Twitter. “With your gesture you have shown yourself to be a champion and a proper player”.
While Inter’s Argentine midfielder Esteban Cambiasso also lavished praise on his Serie A colleague telling Mediaset Premium “We should praise the honesty of Klose. We must honour this gesture. It is an example for all children to follow”.
Klose even earned the praise of his Lazio manager Vladimir Petkovic, who, in-spite of seeing his side go on to lose the game convincingly, told Mediaset Premium, “Klose demonstrated that he is a true man”.
The incident is somewhat ironic in that had the goal counted, it would have come against a Napoli side whose fans glorify the name of one Diego Maradona, the man who made famous the “Hand of God” following his handled effort which helped sink England in the 1986 World Cup Finals in Mexico.
Nonetheless, the Klose incident can be seen at the link below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvi5NQbd0BU
