POW-WOW IN NAPLES
Napoli chief De Laurentiis holds summit with stars amid internal bickering
NAPOLI president Aurelio De Laurentiis held meetings with the squad on Friday and ended up explaining to Allan, Lorenzo Insigne and Dries Mertens why they had picked up bigger fines, according to reports.
His side have been dominating the headlines in Italy in recent weeks after the players refused to go on a training retreat after their 1-1 Champions League draw with RB Salzburg.
Instead, they went home with the backing of their manager Carlo Ancelotti.
De Laurentiis responded by fining the players and Allan was given the most hefty punishment — €350,000 (RM1.6 million).
The Italian newspapers are reporting that De Laurentiis met up with the squad after their Champions League’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool at Anfield to explain his thinking.
Tuttosport added that he also held private talks with Allan, Insigne and Mertens due to their perceived role as instigators.
Allan had it explained to him that he got a heavy fine because he had disagreed with Edo De Laurentiis, Aurelio’s son and the Napoli vice-president.
Insigne, as Napoli’s captain, had a serious punishment too because he did not follow the orders and go to the ritiro in Castelvolturno.
Another newspaper, La Gazzetta dello Sport, suggested the players will seek legal advice from their lawyers to try and find a solution.
De Laurentiis could potentially suspend or reduce the fines if they advance from their group in the Champions League.
Meanwhile, Italian top-flight football clubs on Friday cosigned an open letter to fans decrying racism in stadiums, saying it caused them worldwide shame.
The letter comes in the wake of persistent racist chanting from the terraces of Italian stadiums that has disrupted a string of Serie A games.
The letter said that Italian football was ashamed and frustrated, but admitted that the clubs themselves had not done enough to stop the chanting.
Juventus revealed the letter of appeal, with both AC Milan and Inter Milan saying they had taken part in a working group to choose the wording.
“There is a serious problem of racism in our stadiums,” the letter states, using the word ‘basta’ (that’s enough).
“We ourselves have failed to do enough to fight it and this season shameful images have been broadcast all over the world. In football as in life, nobody should have to suffer racist insults. We can no longer sit back and hope the problem goes away.”
Brescia’s Mario Balotelli threatened to walk off the pitch during a Serie A match with Verona, saying he had been racially abused by “a handful of idiots.”
In October, Roma issued an apology after their fans racially abused Sampdoria’s Ronaldo Vieira. Roma’s city neighbours Lazio received a partial stadium ban from UEFA after racist chanting during a game with French outfit Rennes.
Fifa chief Gianni Infantino made a plea to “kick racism out” of Italian football in September after Fiorentina’s Dalbert Henrique asked the referee to halt play when he was abused by fans.
Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku was another high profile victim and after complaining, a group of his own club’s fans sent him an open letter telling the Belgian that making monkey noises was not racist.