Cesare Prandelli has once more defended Italy’s code of ethics and criticised the ‘partisanship’ he sees in the peninsula.
Cesare Prandelli has once more defended Italy’s code of ethics and criticised the ‘partisanship’ he sees in the peninsula.
The CT’s decision to call up Giorgio Chiellini to his provisional World Cup squad despite the Juventus” data-scaytid=”5″>Juventus man picking up a three-match ban for catching Miralem Pjanic with an elbow last weekend has been seen as in contradiction to his code of ethics.
That code is in place to promote better behaviour among national team players, by omitting those who break it in misbehaving on the pitch whilst playing for their clubs.
For Prandelli, despite the recent criticism, the code remains intact.
“The code of ethics was born four years ago and when Balotelli, then in Manchester, was sent off and I decided to call him up without waiting for the English sporting authorities,” began Prandelli on the subject to the Gazzetta dello Sport.
“To me Mario had not committed any violent act. No-one said anything or created any problems, perhaps because the judge making the decision was English.
“In Italy there is too much partisanship, this is Italy. I have great respect for the sporting authorities, but our code has nothing to do with them and I think that the code has led to improvements.
“Chiellini was in the wall, he wanted to make a block and did not use an elbow.
“I do not feel enslaved to the code of ethics, nor to anyone, I’ve always decided on the basis of what I have seen and felt.
“And I will do it again, I told the players last time – I will do so every time I see player sent off for sporting misconduct.
“Misconduct, unsportsmanlike play, that is only in Italy – think about it, it is no longer elsewhere. I want a tough football, but one that is fair.
“If a player has the calmness to take a penalty after 120 minutes, in the 90 minutes they must have that same calmness to not punch or pretend to have been punched.
“In our football there is a shortage of leaders. There does not exist a leader to embrace a player when they are sent off.
“We need leaders who know how to say: ‘No, you’re wrong’. The Coaches sometimes have to be the leader, as if there was not enough weight on their role.”