Chalk That One Up To The Black Cat

There’s a rumour going around, actually it’s more than a rumour, that Figo, Inter Milan’s Portuguese star, deliberately ran over a black cat, a resident at the team’s training grounds, because he and some other members of the team blamed it for their current string of bad results, which has allowed second placed Roma to move within just three points of them in Serie A – Italy’s first division.

In Italy, the sight of a black cat - considered the harbinger of bad karma - has everyone running for cover, so there’s no love lost, but Inter fans are incensed that one of their players could do such a thing. Figo vehemently denies the accusation, and is threatening legal action, but his accuser is unrepentant and only too willing to see the ex-Real Madrid footballer in court.
However, the cat’s untimely death has done nothing to end Inter’s run of bad results. On the contrary, Figo was injured in the next match, and today’s game against Siena ended in a 2-2 draw, allowing Roma, who won their match against Atalanta, to come within one point of Inter, who must now win their last game or lose ‘lo scudetto’ - the Serie A championship - and if that happens I know one black cat who’ll be laughing his head off, albeit in cat heaven.