Fabio Capello has delivered a scathing assessment of both Alessandro Bastoni and Cristian Chivu in the wake of the controversy surrounding Inter–Juventus at San Siro. The former AC Milan, Roma and Juventus coach did not mince his words when discussing Bastoni’s simulation and Chivu’s reaction after the match.
In his view, the behaviour of a defender who is a key figure for club and country was unacceptable, while the Inter head coach failed to show the coherence and condemnation Capello expected after such an episode.
“Bastoni? Something Very Ugly”
Capello began by focusing on the incident involving Bastoni and the sending-off of Pierre Kalulu, which has dominated discussion since the Derby d’Italia.
“Two things about what happened at San Siro struck me in particular. The first is this: a player like Bastoni, of international level and a key pillar of our national team, cannot – and above all must not – behave like that. It was something very ugly for everyone who loves football to see him deceive the referee with a blatant piece of simulation, and he did it while already booked, so he was also risking a second yellow card himself.”
“Deeply Disappointed by Chivu”
Capello then turned his attention to Cristian Chivu, someone he knows personally from their time together at Roma, and he was equally forthright in his criticism of the Inter coach’s handling of the situation.
“The second thing is this: I know Chivu very well, as he was one of my players at Roma, but his words after the match deeply disappointed me. The Inter coach was not coherent with what he had said before the game and, in the end, he gave the impression of justifying what happened.”
Capello’s frustration stems from the contrast between Chivu’s pre-match stance and his post-match comments, which, in Capello’s view, fell short of the clear condemnation required after such an incident. For him, it was a missed opportunity for a strong message on fair play and integrity.
However, he stressed that what Chivu did during the game is even more telling than what he said afterwards.
“More than his words, though, his actions matter. Chivu took Bastoni off at half-time because he knew exactly that the player would be at risk if he stayed on the pitch after that ugly gesture which led to Kalulu’s red card. I would have expected statements of a completely different tone, especially after a victory.”
