The situation in which a small group of Italian national team members, including Federico Dimarco, celebrated after the match between Wales and Bosnia and Herzegovina, which decided penalties and BiH’s place in the World Cup play-off final against Italy, became viral.
In our country, the video caused an avalanche of comments, pointing out that the reaction of the Italians was “arrogant”.
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Minister of Sports and Youth Andrea Abodi defended Dimarco and the Azzurro, trying to calm the media storm surrounding the selection led by Gattuso.
Classica arrogance di chi poi paga tutto.
Non va bene esultare ora, si esulta martedì. Ci vuole rispetto per la Bosnia e per l’adversario che andremo ad affrontare.
Bisogna essere concentrati, non si va mai convinti di essere più forti#ItaliaIrlandaDelNord#ITANIR pic.twitter.com/s0jHeGIpH3— Max Vader (@Potereaisith) March 26, 2026
“I was quite hoarse because I was screaming on Thursday night. In Bergamo, we had a situation where the minister tried to maintain decency, while Andrea wanted to show a bit of restrained enthusiasm. At half-time, Gattuso had to give clear instructions, and when the players returned to the field, the national team relaxed and did their best,” Abodi said.
The minister added that all conditions, both technical and psychological, have been met in order for Italy to achieve a good result in the next match.
“Of course, we are playing on the home field of an opponent who will be hostile, which is to be expected, but the Italian fans will certainly be passionate and loud. Millions of hearts in Italy will beat for us and I am sure that the players will feel that support. Now we only have to use the deepest reserves of energy and feelings. The only outcome we expect is Italy on June 12 in Canada,” he pointed out.
Commenting on the viral video of the post-match celebration, Abodi said it was “basically nothing”.
“I don’t think there was excessive enthusiasm, I don’t even know what exactly they were thinking at that moment. I don’t understand why that celebration was given so much importance; we’re talking about guys who just finished the game. I don’t think there’s anything reprehensible or provocative. Let’s try to move past it; we have much more complex problems to solve anyway. This is a completely pointless controversy,” he said.
(Vijesti.ba)
