Gian Piero Gasperini says Atalanta have ‘regrets’ after the 2-0 defeat to Juventus and attempts to frame the racist insults against Dusan Vlahovic as ‘towards an individual’ rather than a whole ethnicity.
La Dea have now dropped behind in the race for the top four, sitting five points adrift of Inter, after a 2-0 defeat on home turf.
The hosts hit the woodwork twice with Giorgio Scalvini and Davide Zappacosta, but Samuel Iling-Junior scored on his full Juventus debut and Dusan Vlahovic snatched a second on the counter-attack deep into stoppages.
“Unfortunately, we have several players out of action in the same area, so we’re a bit short on options,” Gasperini told Sky Sport Italia after substitute Jeremie Boga was carried off with a sprained ankle.
“The team played well, but the incidents of the match did not go our way. We have regrets after this defeat, because it was a good performance and we created many chances against a strong side like Juventus.
“The goal was unlucky too, because when Zappacosta fell down, he crashed into a teammate and that opened up the gap.”
It makes their push for the Champions League places now very difficult, but the Europa League spots are still up for grabs.
“We should also be satisfied with our position in the table. There are four games to go and we still have a possibility of qualifying for Europe.”
The final minutes of the match were marred by ugly scenes as the Atalanta ultras repeatedly aimed racist chants at Vlahovic, at one stage prompting the referee to halt play.
Despite that, when Vlahovic scored and for a moment put a finger to his lips to silence them, the Juventus striker was yellow-carded.
Gasperini tried to stand up for his fans with a rather mealy-mouthed explanation.
“Atalanta have players like Pasalic, Djimsiti and others from that ethnicity. Racism is a serious matter and we need to make some clear distinctions between an insult towards an individual or a general racist one. There is a big difference and we must differentiate them.”
It is hardly the first time that fans have made racist chants against opponents when their own players have been offended by this offensive behaviour.