Pjanic: ‘Cagliari racism last year too’

Miralem Pjanic feels “there is no place in football” for racism after Juventus teammates Moise Kean and Blaise Matuidi were insulted by Cagliari fans.

The incident occurred after Kean scored Juve’s second goal of the game and celebrated in front of the Cagliari ultras, who were behind the net.

Miralem Pjanic feels “there is no place in football” for racism after Juventus teammates Moise Kean and Blaise Matuidi were insulted by Cagliari fans.

The incident occurred after Kean scored Juve’s second goal of the game and celebrated in front of the Cagliari ultras, who were behind the net.

“They are disappointed, above all Blaise, as it’s the second year in a row this has happened to him here. I hope this can end. How it’ll end is down to those who have the power to make changes,” Pjanic told Sky Sport Italia.

“It makes us sad and the lads are affected, because this has no place in football.”

The 2-0 victory was achieved despite an injury crisis that ruled out nine players, but saw a move to the 3-5-2 formation.

“It was an important game, we want to get the Scudetto sorted as soon as possible so we can then focus on the Champions League.

“This was a great performance, as despite missing so many players, we still dominated and that means a lot of credit goes to the club for constructing a squad with such strength in depth.

“We’re going to need possession to do well in the Champions League and we showed that against Manchester United and Atletico Madrid. Again this evening, we never felt in danger and that’s a great sign. There’s no need to rush things, just pass it around and wait for the opening.

“Rodrigo Bentancur is improving a lot and is still so young, but has come forward in leaps and bounds. It’s easy to play alongside him, as we understand each other.”

Will Cristiano Ronaldo recover in time for the Champions League quarter-final with Ajax?

“He will come to Amsterdam regardless, because he lives for games like this. We hope to have him in the team, but it’ll be up to him and the doctors to decide whether it’s worth the risk. Cris knows his body well and will know what to do.”