Spain's Deportivo La Coruna held Italy's AC Milan to a controversial 1-1 draw yesterday in Milan to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals and leave Italy with no team remaining in European club competition this season.
Deportivo's Brazilian playmaker Djalminha put the Spaniards ahead from a 73rd-minute penalty after Scottish referee Hugh Dallas penalised Milan's Danish defender Thomas Helveg for a foul on the edge of his own area - a decision furiously contested by Milan's players and fans.
Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko equalised - also from the spot - after 85 minutes but the goal that Milan needed to win and qualify for the quarter-finals did not come.
Dallas further incurred the fury of the San Siro by disallowing goals from Shevchenko and German substitute Oliver Bierhoff.
It consigned the five-times European Champions - who had to win this match - to a trophyless season while Deportivo march on.
Such was the tension that when Milan defender Roque Junior kicked the ball out of play so Djalminha could get treatment he was roundly booed by the 70,103 fans present and also publicly chastised by his captain Paolo Maldini.
Three minutes before the interval they thought they had scored when Shevchenko latched onto a long ball and netted, but Dallas had already seen his assistant's flag and blown for offside.
Milan started the second half on the offensive but were stunned by Dallas' penalty award. Djalminha nonchalantly chipped home the spot kick and further infuriated the Milan fans by goading them.
After Bierhoff had a goal disallowed for offside, Shevchenko equalised for Milan, but the elusive winner did not come.
Violence flared at the Parc des Princes with 56 supporters (55 French and one Turk) injured and play suspended for 25 minutes in the other Group B match between Paris St Germain and Galatasaray.
Portuguese referee Vitor Manuel Melo Pereira took the players off the pitch after 59 minutes following fighting in the stands.
With PSG leading 2-0, officials took the decision to go on as temperatures calmed.
The violence began in the visitors' section with seats being ripped out and thrown. Some supporters climbed out of the stands and wandered towards the pitch clearly bleeding.
When the match resumed, the French club held onto their lead for the remaining 31 minutes.
The goals both came from Brazilian Christian, racing past defender Emre Asik to slide home the opener past Claudio Taffarel after three minutes, and then turning in a low cross from Laurent Leroy after 27 minutes.
