Infraction by Warholm in the semifinal of the 400 hs, but no disqualification. Mocked Hiss

Much ado about nothing: on the third evening of the World Cup in Budapest, in the blue house, the Sibilio case holds the ground. The 24-year-old Neapolitan, back from a troubled season due to a muscle injury, passed the first round of his 400 hurdles on Saturday, runs the semifinal – the third of three – in the second lane, the innermost. The one that everyone would like to avoid. Be that as it may: the first two and the authors of the two best times among the excluded will go to the final. Alessandro practically closes the group until entering the straight. Then, with the usual grand finale, he recovers. He finishes fifth in 48”43. Considering the condition, it’s a more than good result. But Gianpaolo Ciappa’s pupil ended up in a very tough semifinal. So much so that with the champion of all, the Norwegian Karsten Warholm (47″09) and the Jamaican Roshawn Clarke (47″34, junior world record), promoted directly, they are the third and fourth to be rescued: the American Trevor Bassitt (47”38) and German Joshua Abuaku (48”39). Sibilio, for the trifle of 4/100, is thus the first of the excluded. A mockery.

The case

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But a couple of hours go by and “strange” images begin to circulate. They show the passage of the second obstacle by His Majesty Warholm. The 27-year-old Viking may have attacked him with his left leg outstretched and his foot not “high” enough. It matters little that the right limb then crossed the barrier. The infringement, regulation in hand, appears evident. So much so that the Italian federation hastily presents an appeal for alleged irregularity. The relative, possible repechage of Sibilio is at stake. The time limits within which to appeal have expired, but the rule of “new evidence” is being leveraged. While awaiting an official decision, given the complexity of the case and taking advantage of all the lanes of the new Hungarian stadium, the hypothesis of a final with nine athletes is making headway. But about three quarters of an hour go by. And the definitive announcement arrives: the appeal is rejected.

The reactions

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The social world goes wild in favor of the blue and against the Norwegian. For example, Finnish specialist Oskari Mörö, twice a European finalist, claims: “Based on the images I see, there is no room for speculation: unfortunately Warholm’s leg remains outside and the foot is not high enough”. Many underline the fact that if the story did not involve Warholm, one of the cover characters of international athletics, disqualification would be certain. Thus, for Sibilio, the insult is double.

The previous

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In the meantime, the memories – in a distant era, when the technological means were quite different – ​​go back to two fiery nights in August 1999 and to the World Cup in Seville. The Warholm at the time was Fabrizio Mori from Livorno, guilty of a possible irregular passage – first in the semifinal, then in the final – targeted by the French, who were defending their Stephene Diagana. Even then nothing happened. And Mori was consecrated world champion. He is one of the twelve of Italian athletics.