Inter director Beppe Marotta says Simone Inzaghi was ‘unfairly criticised’ after reaching the Champions League quarter-final and promises a formal complaint to UEFA after a thousand fans were denied entry to the Porto match.
The Nerazzurri had a 1-0 first leg lead thanks to the late Romelu Lukaku goal and defended it tooth and nail at the Estadio do Dragao.
The last four Italian teams to have visited this arena emerged defeated, but Inter’s goalless draw secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
“We celebrate this passage that Inter had not achieved for 12 years, we give the credit to our coach, our players and the fans who were present,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.
“I also want to spare a thought for circa a thousand fans who were left outside the stadium even after regularly purchasing a ticket. This was unexpected and obviously we will make a formal complaint to UEFA to have a clear picture of what happened.
“I saw footage of families who were locked outside, children crying who had flown here from Italy. Football must represent unity and joy, so this is a bitter page in what was otherwise a wonderful evening.
“We had met with the local authorities this morning and they assured us that the fans would be allowed in even beyond those limits of the away section. Instead, this did not happen.
“These were for the most part families with children, who certainly weren’t here to perpetrate acts of violence, but to support their team. I don’t believe the situation was so serious as to ban their entry.
“We realise UEFA are not to blame, but we feel that with a formal complaint we can prevent this sort of thing ever happening again.”
There had been a series of calls this morning when FC Porto announced they would not let in any Inter fans to areas other than the away section, even if they purchased the tickets legally.
It was then assured they would be let in as long as they did not have any Inter jerseys or scarves to stand them out, but as kick-off arrived, a thousand fans remained locked outside.
Inter once again proved that they step up on the big occasion, but it is in the smaller fixtures they tend to stumble, recently losing to Bologna and Spezia in Serie A.
“There has been a lack of consistency this season, but there seems to be no adequate explanation as to why. Overall, we can only be happy, as we are still competing on three fronts and that is to the credit of the coach – who has been unfairly criticised lately – and the team,” continued Marotta.
“The inconsistency has been more prevalent than last season, but we must also tip our hats to the extraordinary campaign that Napoli are having, which hasn’t been seen for many years.”
Are there any preferences for the draw going into the quarter-final, which will also include Milan and – hopefully – Napoli?
“On the one hand, we want an opponent of great prestige, on the other the best opportunity of going through to the next round. We shall see what the draw has in store for us.
“The Champions League is a tournament, not a real league, so you have to be on a good night in that particular game to go through and have luck on your side.”