Fair play goal in Italy under investigation (from Yahoo)

Legal and ethical questions surround Ascoli's decision to allow Reggina to score an unopposed goal in an effort to balance out a previous incident during an Italian second division (Serie B) match on Saturday.

Early in the first half, Reggina's Carlos Valdez pulled a muscle and attempted to kick the ball out of play so he could receive treatment. Oblivious to those intentions, Ascoli's Vincenzo Sommese intercepted the ball and set up teammate Mirko Antenucci for a goal as Reggina players protested.

A brawl ensued and Reggina defender Andrea Costa was sent off for hitting Sommese. Once the fury subsided and play resumed, Ascoli, sitting in the relegation zone at the bottom of the Serie B table, stood still to allow Reggina striker Biagio Pagano to score an uncontested goal in an attempt at fairness.

Ascoli's gesture did not bring them good karma for the rest of the match, though, as they lost 3-1 even though Reggina was a man down.

Following the match, Ascoli manager Bepi Pillon (who, curiously enough, managed Reggina last season) said: “We made the decision [to let Reggina score] all together, there is no single person responsible for it. “We were locked in the changing rooms for two hours after the game to avoid the protests. There is too much exasperation in Italy, too many interests that force you to look only at the results. It’s not fun like this.”

The justifiable anger of its fans is not all Ascoli has to worry about in this decision, however. An investigation has now been launched to decide whether Reggina's free goal constitutes fair play or a breach of the rules and whether the fact that the referee did not stop Ascoli from scoring in the first place makes their goal legal.

So what seems to have been a gesture of kindness becomes a source of controversy that could have lasting effects. Who knew that allowing an opposing team to score (without trying to stop them) in a professional league match would cause such a problem?