Referee to face heroin charges

THE referee involved in Italy's controversial elimination from the 2002 World Cup has been caught at Kennedy Airport with bags of heroin attached to his body, federal prosecutors said.

US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested Byron Moreno late on Monday after he arrived in New York on a commercial flight from his native Ecuador. During a routine inspection, Moreno "became visibly nervous".

A customs agent felt "hard objects on the defendant's stomach, back and both of his legs," the complaint said. A strip search revealed that the lumps were ten clear plastic bags containing more than ten pounds of heroin, it said. A judge jailed Moreno without bail on a drug smuggling charge.

"I'm looking into the circumstances that led to this unfortunate situation," said Moreno's lawyer, Michael Padden.

Moreno enraged Italian fans in 2002 when he sent off Francesco Totti, giving the Italian a second yellow card for an alleged dive in the penalty area 13 minutes into extra time of a 2-1 loss to South Korea in the World Cup's second round.

A 111th-minute goal by Italy's Damiano Tommasi that would have advanced Italy was disallowed, apparently for offside.