Roma’s Kevin Strootman has apologised for spraying water in the face of Lazio’s Danilo Cataldi in last week’s Derby.
The incident occurred after the Dutchman had scored to give the Giallorossi the lead at Stadio Olimpico, with Cataldi reacting to Strootman’s indiscretion by pulling back the collar of his shirt.
The 26-year-old then went to ground, resulting in a red card for Cataldi and a subsequent two-match ban for Strootman for simulation.
Roma’s Kevin Strootman has apologised for spraying water in the face of Lazio’s Danilo Cataldi in last week’s Derby.
The incident occurred after the Dutchman had scored to give the Giallorossi the lead at Stadio Olimpico, with Cataldi reacting to Strootman’s indiscretion by pulling back the collar of his shirt.
The 26-year-old then went to ground, resulting in a red card for Cataldi and a subsequent two-match ban for Strootman for simulation.
Although the ban has since been overturned, the midfielder insists he is repentant for his initial, ‘unsportsmanlike’ offence.
“Of course. When I received the news I was surprised,” Strootman told Gazzetta Dello Sport when asked for his reaction to the ban.
“I thought I was sleeping and at a certain point a message came in on our team group chat, with everyone commenting ‘It’s incredible.’
“Having said that, I shouldn’t have sprayed the water at Cataldi, it was unsportsmanlike.
“He did some things, but it is my fault. However, it wouldn’t have been fair to ban me for simulation.”
Though Strootman is remorseful over the spraying incident, he would not be drawn on whether he overreacted to Cataldi’s shirt pull.
“I don’t want to talk about that. I will just say that I was wrong to spray the water and I apologise.”
The Netherlands international was then asked whether he feels he has returned to his best form, following almost two years out with knee ligament issues.
“I still haven’t. If I look back over my matches I know I still need to improve. From when I was four years old I played every day until three years ago. Then I stopped.
“Last year I thought I was back to my best, but then I had one good game and one bad.
“Then, they said to me, ‘You need to have a third operation, otherwise the problem isn’t over. And it isn’t even certain that you’ll come back as you were before.
“At that moment I was scared, I knew I was risking my knee for the third time, but they did a great job.”