Former Milan winger Stefano Eranio continues his attempts to justify his racism gaffe on Swiss TV.
The pundit was sacked by Swiss television station Rsi after claiming black players make mistakes in defence because they’re “not concentrated”, in reference to Roma’s Antonio Rudiger.
Former Milan winger Stefano Eranio continues his attempts to justify his racism gaffe on Swiss TV.
The pundit was sacked by Swiss television station Rsi after claiming black players make mistakes in defence because they’re “not concentrated”, in reference to Roma’s Antonio Rudiger.
He then dug himself into a deeper hole, declaring that black players are not as “detail-oriented as us”, before insisting today that “tactically, Africans are not particularly prepared”, though noting that Rudiger is German.
“I’m bitter, because I didn’t get a chance to explain my reasoning,” Eranio insisted in an interview with Radio Onda Libera, his third attempt at explaining his reasoning.
“On Swiss TV I was talking about tactics, game situations and I never dreamed of being racist. I’m not racist, the image I’ve built in football over the years is there for all to see.
“I was wrong to generalise about black players, but I was expressing the concept that certain players care less about the defensive side, and have lower concentration which leads to errors.
“I’ve had many messages of support and esteem, I think I was misunderstood without being given the chance to explain better.
“To listen to what I said and transform an expression about football tactics into racism is unbearable, because I’ve never been that kind of person, and because I’m still convinced I was reflecting on a specific game situation.
“I was speaking about the defensive line and the errors in their play.
“I was referring to the positioning of the players, the concentration, and the training regimes which are different to, for example, Italian players.
“I realise I could have avoided the expression about black players, but all my reasoning has been misrepresented.”