Ternana president Stefano Bandecchi has refused to apologise for spitting at the club’s fans following a recent defeat.
The Rossoverdi, in the depths of the mid-table in Serie B, suffered a bitter 2-1 loss to Cittadella on February 25, a result that infuriated the fans. After the final whistle, the ultras called over president Bandecchi and the two parties shared a toxic exchange before the Ternana head spat at his own supporters.
Speaking to Deejay Football Club, Bandecchi refused to apologise for his act and suggested that things could’ve been more serious.
“I’m not sorry, this is the third time my fans have spat at me. I’ve done everything in life not to be spat at, as a child it happened when I was poor, that’s enough now. If we had been close, I think it would have been worse.”
The Ternana president then spoke about his relationship with the fans in more detail.
“Well, a normal relationship. Then fans is a generic term: when I entered the stadium, there was a group of people who insulted me and another who applauded shyly. A falling tree makes more noise than a growing forest.
“In a month, I became a criminal, an evader and a mental checked out person. I had a friend, about whom everyone spoke well, and everyone said he was a poor guy, he was kicked and punched at home, he became a hero because of that. I don’t have the same temperament.”
Finally, Bandecchi explained why the relationship had grown more complicated and the issues affecting Italy as a whole.
“As always, relationships in football are complicated by results. Everywhere if you win, you’re a phenomenon and if you lose you’re a jerk. Plus: if the team wins, the president counts for nothing. If he loses, the president is an idiot.
“And it doesn’t just apply to Bandecchi: you don’t know how many presidents, from Serie A to Serie C, have called me to finally say what we think. And I would have preferred not to, in fact I apologise to all the decent Italians who had to witness that scene.
“I hope my children never see it and for that I am mortified. But I say: be careful living in this country, there is no plan for the future from any point of view. Sooner or later, someone has to rebel against this, there are the silent revolutions and the good ones.
“It is pointless to keep doing the same things, in the last thirty years not one of them has gone right. Today there is an article in Il Post that is worth reading, it says that Bandecchi, with the laws of the State, has grown rich.
“It doesn’t say that all Italian universities, private and otherwise, make businesses and get rich from merchandising products, that they rent villas for birthdays.”
Following that bitter defeat to Cittadella, coach Aurelio Andreazzoli handed in his resignation at Ternana. He has been replaced by Livorno legend Cristiano Lucarelli.