Juventus legend Claudio Marchisio hit back angrily at a group of ultras who placed an insulting banner over the entrance to his restaurant. ‘You have no idea. You are not fans.’
The incident was sparked by Marchisio – who is from Turin – commenting on a podcast that there were more Torino fans in the city of Turin than Juventus supporters, whereas the Bianconeri can be found all over Italy.
It is hardly a new statement, nor a remotely inaccurate one.
This infuriated a group of ultras representing the Drughi, who placed a huge banner across a restaurant in the city that he co-owns.
‘As a player you were a lackey of the club, as an unemployed pundit you are a traitor, and in life Marchisio you are a piece of ****!’
Now 38, Marchisio retired in 2019 and spent the vast majority of his career at Juventus, coming up through their youth academy and having only a brief loan with Empoli in 2007-08 before moving to Zenit St. Petersburg in 2018.
The former Italy international posted an image of the banner on his Instagram account, along with a long message on the whole situation.
Marchisio responds to Juventus ultras
“I cited a statistic on the fanbases in some Italian cities during a podcast and this morning woke up with my phone full of these images.
“I am talking now to you four, with your faces covered, who proudly show off this banner. Obviously, everyone is free to express themselves and their thoughts within the limits of decency.
“What I cannot abide is that certain people think they are ‘fans’ with the right to commit gestures that go beyond the limit. Why do you think you have the right to place that banner in front of a restaurant where I am not the only shareholder? Why do you think the people who work there should waste precious time removing it and that the other businesses nearby should be affected by this gesture?
“Because everything is allowed in football? Because there is no limit? I repeat, I am not even irritated by the message, but by putting it outside the restaurant.”
Marchisio did then respond to the crux of the message, which accused him of being a traitor to Juventus, but also a lackey for the club.
“You don’t know anything. You have no idea the sacrifices me and my family made, the kilometres I covered as a kid to train and play in the provinces, the adolescence I missed, the friendships I lost by never being there.
“You have no idea of the time I couldn’t spend with my wife and children, that I will never get back. You have no idea of the suffering I felt with injuries and how I never held back one single day.
“No idea of the courage to step aside when the time came and put the needs of the team ahead of my own. But you also have no idea how wonderful it felt to live this life along with the many fans who lit up my life. Those are fans, yes, not you!
“Citing a far more romantic banner than this one: ‘Everyone is a Juventino, but Marchisio is a little bit more.’”
It is not the first time the Juventus ultras got into rows with club legends or the current directors.
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Some football fans are so pathetic. Imagine being sensitive and unhinged enough to actually do this based on someone suggesting there are more Torino fans in Turin.
what a club, what a fans 🙂