Voetballiefhebbers? De Italianen verdenken Matthaus van corruptie bij de WK-loting...balletjes zouden veschilldende temperaturen hebben.
Mr. Flip always has a warm welcome for a half-baked conspiracy theory, so he's here to tell you that a TV station accuses German soccer star Lothar Matthaus of manipulating this month's World Cup draw to make things tougher on Italy.
Sky Italia contends that Matthaus purposely picked the U.S. ball from Pot 4 when it came time to choose a team for Group E. As evidence, it shows footage of him appearing to pick up a ball and then drop it before getting another - which turned out to be the United States.
Sky Italia surmised that certain balls in Pot 4 were heated or cooled, signaling to Matthaus which one belonged to the United States, the highest rated and most feared team in the pot. He pulled out Costa Rica for Germany in Group A, Trinidad and Tobago for Group B (which has the crossover game with Group A in the second round) and ultimately the United States for Group E instead of Japan, South Korea or Saudi Arabia.
"The Italians are mad if they think that," Matthaus told German newspaper Bild. "I had no idea which ball corresponded to which team. That is utter nonsense."
Mr. Flip loves it when people get all hot and bothered over soccer. Were this a match, Matthaus and Sky Italia could decide it the old-fashioned way - with a drop ball.