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VIDEO: Player deliberately misses penalty in Coppa Italia Dilettanti

Vittorio Esposito deliberately misses a penalty after diving
Penalty... Missed (Image: 101greatgoalsFan/YouTube)

Following a first leg 2-2 draw, US Termoli were leading Torres by a goal to nil in the 2nd leg of the Coppa Italia Dilettanti (the Italian Amateur Cup) tie when, to the dismay of the Torres players, Termoli were awarded a penalty in the last minute of the game.

The protestations from the Torres players combined with the subsequent video replay evidence seemed to indicate that Italian striker Vittorio Esposito had taken a dive though and that no contact had been made.

Racked with guilt, the diver turned fair play enthusiast – Esposito himself, booted the ball out of play from the penalty spot and didn’t even aim at the target. According to reports, Esposito has since become something of a cult hero.

The gesture was “warmly received” by Torres, a club notable for developing a young Gianfranco Zola who scored 21 goals in 88 games for the side, but they were still obviously knocked out of the cup on aggregate.

Watch a video of the dodgy dive and the pleasingly redeeming penalty below:

The first leg wasn’t without incident either, watch footbage of Fabio Cifani’s incredible 50-yard goal for Termoli: