Euro 2012: Biscuit threatens to sidetrack Italy's Ireland prep

Italy's preparation for their final European Championship Group C clash against Ireland on Monday is at risk of being derailed by a biscuit.

The 2006 world champions sit third in their group after 1-1 draws against Spain and Croatia.

They trail both of those by two points with pointless Ireland already eliminated.

Italy's preparations should be firmly concentrated on getting the victory over Ireland that should prove sufficient to send them into the quarter-finals.

However talk of a "biscotto", or biscuit in English, has got Italian nerves jangling and conspiracy theorists clamouring foul play before even a ball has been kicked.

Should Spain and Croatia draw 2-2 in Gdansk then they will both qualify for the quarter-finals at Italy's expense, regardless of their result against Ireland.

It is because in the case of two or more teams finishing level on points, their head-to-head records come into play.

It was a similar scenario at Euro 2004 when Italy were ousted by a 2-2 draw in the final game between Nordic neighbours Sweden and Denmark.

Those two played a competitive match until the fourth goal went in and then seemed to both settle for the result that guaranteed their passage into the knock-out stages.

That has become known as a "biscotto" in Italian as it is the term used for an arrangement between two parties at the expense of a third.

Its origin comes either from horses being doped by biscuits or the principle of dividing up a cake equally, according to Italian sources.