Italy defender Leonardo Bonucci has apologised on behalf of his teammates following criticism for how the Azzurri left the dressing room at the Stadio Barbera on Thursday night.
Photos and videos circulating on social media after the match with North Macedonia showed empty plastic bottles, used tissues, food waste even cigarette butts left on the floor of the dressing room at the Stadio Barbera causing even more criticism for the Azzurri players who had missed out on a second consecutive World Cup.
Bonucci addressed the issue at a press conference held at Coverciano today. The Juventus defender joined Roberto Mancini for a pre-match meeting with the media ahead of tomorrow’s game with Turkey.
“It was a big mistake, next time, we’ll pay more attention,” Bonucci said.
“We were very disappointed and we didn’t think that these details make the difference sometimes. We’ll pay more attention in the next matches, we apologise.”
Italy’s communication chief Paolo Corbi also offered his apology on behalf of the team.
“It’s an aspect that we underestimated and we’ve already apologised to Palermo Calcio,” he said.
“We had to catch the flight for Coverciano and there was a huge disappointment even if, we must say, the state of the dressing room when we left was not exactly the one shown in the video. It was not all down to us.”
Both Mancini and Bonucci confirmed that they would not leave the Azzurri after tomorrow’s match. The coach has a contract until 2026 and will remain in charge, while the defender wants to become ‘a guide’ for the young footballers who will join the national team in the near future.
Cigarette butts???!!!! Seriously…professional footballers in 2022???!!!! Disgraceful if done (smoking) in the dressing room.