Comolli admits Inter 3-2 Juventus reaction was ‘excessive’ – ‘Sorry if I offended’
Juventus CEO Damien Comolli has apologised and admitted that his reaction after the fiery Derby d’Italia against Inter was excessive, but insists that he was ‘trying to defend my club’.
Comolli has been given a fine of €15,000 and has been handed a Serie A ban until the end of March as a result of his comments and actions during and after the Derby d’Italia between Inter and Juventus on Saturday evening.
Inter’s victory in the derby was largely overshadowed by the incorrect decision to send off Pierre Kalulu in the 42nd minute. Comolli angrily confronted the referee Federico La Penna in the tunnel at half-time, and later made calls for refereeing chief Gianluca Rocchi to resign after full-time.
Comolli, speaking ahead of Juventus’s Champions League match against Galatasaray on Tuesday evening, apologised for the way in which he behaved in San Siro on Saturday.
“I always respect the decisions of the authorities, whatever the decision, I will comply to it,” Comolli told Sky Sport Italia.
“My passion was excessive, my reaction was excessive, I am sorry if I offended people, but I am here to defend my club, I felt it was an injustice, we reacted the wrong way and were excessive, but we still were on the wrong end of an injustice.
“I don’t want to respond to other clubs, as we don’t want to talk about the past, we want to focus on the future and what happens on the pitch.”
Alessandro Bastoni, largely responsible for getting Kalulu sent off, has since offered his apologies for the way in which he celebrated the dismissal. Bastoni has avoided punishment from the league, but Kalulu remains suspended.
“I can’t comment, we are very sorry for Pierre Kalulu, he is the one who is going to be suspended, we think it is very unfair. I saw him in the tunnel after the game, he is extremely frustrated. Our thoughts are all with Kalulu at this moment.”
Comolli and Chiellini protested about referees in general and not just errors against Juventus, calling for Rocchi to stand down.
“We just want to help, to collaborate with the authorities, the FIGC and Lega Serie A, it is not about Rocchi or any one person. We just want to work with all the clubs to improve a system that does not work, that is defective. We never said it was a person, but the system that is the problem, and we want it to be better for the good of Italian football.”
And reflecting on Giorgo Chiellini’s role in the debacle, Comolli said: “I just want to say that as good as he was on the pitch, Chiellini is an even better executive off it. He represents the present and future of Juventus.
“The more young executives we have, the better it will be for Italian football. I’ve been around a long time, and I have seen few executives as talented as Giorgio in his role. We think about the present and the future, we are not interested in people who live in the past.”
And finally getting around to the topic of the Champions League match against Galatasaray, Comolli said: “I think we need to show personality, which we did at San Siro on Saturday. I asked Kostic to explain the game between Fenerbahce and Galatasaray, he said it was impossible, we had to just experience it.”