Outdoor lovers lose appeal with TV soccer defence

Published on 15/11/2012 00:00

Italy’s highest court has rejected an appeal by a couple who said they should not have been convicted of obscene acts in public because they had sex outside while the rest of their town was inside watching football.

The couple, a 60-year-old man and a 40-year-old woman, were caught having sex outside in southern Italy in 2006 while the national team was playing in the World Cup quarter-finals in Germany. Their defence was that they had timed their outdoor tryst so they would not offend anyone, because everyone else would be watching the game on TV. They were convicted and brought their case to Rome’s Court of Cassation, where they lost again.

Italy played Ukraine that night and won 3-0, going on to beat France in the final.