March 20 1927: Lazio Pro Italia 2-0
- Simon Basten
- Mar 20
- 3 min read
Updated: Apr 16
Pro Italia walk off in protest
After just 20 minutes with Lazio leading 2-0, Pro Italia walked off in protest against the referee.
Also on this day:
The season so far
The previous season had seen Lazio not do well, arriving third in the National Division Lazio regional group which meant that in the newly reformed format, they would play the current year in the first division, a second tier. In order to be promoted they had to win their group made up of Ideale and Liberty Bari, Bagnolese, Casertana, Pro Italia, Foggia, Audace, Roman and Palermo.
For this year they would not have the services of Fulvio Bernardini who had gone to Inter, Ugo Dosio, who had to work, Quinto Rosso, who had finished his military service and had gone back north, and Bruno Finesi. But Ezio Sclavi had returned following his not so positive experience with Juventus and coming into the team was also Riccardo Okely III joining his brother Giorgio. New player manager was Hungarian Jenő Löwy.
Today was the last game of the group. Lazio were first with a single point lead over Liberty Bari. They had won 14 games and lost three. Today was a must win match. It would allow them to be in the first tier next season.
The match: Sunday, March 20 1927, Campo Rondinella, Rome
There were quite a lot of people who had come to see the game, hoping for a Lazio win which would secure their first place in Group D and hence promotion.
And the Biancocelesti started well, scoring after just nine minutes with Jenő Löwy and ten minutes later with Gino Ottier.
The visitors were not too pleased particularly with the second goal which in their minds should have been disallowed. So, they abandoned the game in protest. A ridiculous decision they then regretted but by that time it was too late to come back and the match was over.
Lazio were deservedly back in the top tier.
Who played for Lazio
Manager: Löwy
Who played for Pro Italia
Pieri was the goalkeeper, the rest is unknown
Referee: Scarpi
Goals: 9’ Löwy, 19’ Ottier
What happened next
Lazio played a final group phase of no significance with the winners of the other groups, Novara, Pro Patria and Reggiana. They were not particularly interested in the outcome since the objective of winning their group had been reached and promotion was secured.
Luigi Saraceni, Ezio Sclavi, Jenő Löwy and Umberto Zannelli had been the players with most appearances (23) and Dante Filippi the top scorer with 11 goals.
Let’s talk about Gino Ottier
Gino Ottier was born in Rome on August 16 1902.
He was the son of Guido, one of the early founders of Lazio, famous for having brought the sport of water polo to Rome.
In the summer of 1908, Guido was on the banks of the river Tiber with Sante Ancherani and Olindo Bitetti. The others did not notice that Gino had slipped into the water. Several Lazio members dived into the river to save him and they managed to do so just as Gino was about to drown. At that point Lazio became one of the most important things for the family.
Gino was a forward, a winger, very fast with a strong feeling for the goal. He started to play in the first team in 1922 and played until 1928 with 60 appearances and 32 goals. He was also a swimmer.
He died in Rome on June 15, 1984.
Lazio Career
Season | Total games (goals) | National Legue | First Division | Coppa Coni | Canalini Trophy |
1921-22 | 5 (1) | 4 (1) | 1 | ||
1922-23 | 2 (1) | 2 (1) | - | ||
1923-24 | 5 (4) | 5 (4) | - | ||
1924-25 | 5 (1) | 5 (1) | - | ||
1925-26 | 8 (13) | 8 (13) | - | ||
1926-27 | 22 (8) | - | 22 (8) | - | |
1927-28 | 13 (4) | 11 (3) | - | 2 (1) | - |
Total | 60 (32) | 35 (23) | 22 (8) | 2 (1) | 1 |
Sources
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