“I respect all the clubs and especially all the national teams. It was an instinctive reaction, we were among friends and we were watching a penalty shootout,” Dimarco said at the opening of a press conference at Coverciano, the Nazionale training center.
“I also spoke with (Edin) Džeko, a friend (and former teammate at Inter, Editor’s note), I congratulated him. I repeat, I have not disrespected anyone, neither Bosnia nor the Bosnians, we are all decent people,” he continued.
At the end of their victory against Northern Ireland (2-0), Dimarco, Sandro Tonali and other teammates were filmed by Rai, broadcaster of the Nazionale matches, congratulating themselves after Bosnia’s victory against Wales on penalties in Cardiff (1-1, 4 tab to 2).
This gesture was poorly received by Bosnian supporters and the former glories of the selection. “Look at the lack of respect and arrogance on the part of the Italians,” commented the Bosnian Football account in a widely relayed post on X.
“The joy of Dimarco and the other Azzurri? Honestly, I don’t understand why,” former international Miralem Pjanic told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“They will have to know how to manage the match well in a hellish atmosphere. It will take personality to leave Zenica with a victory,” he warned.
Dimarco defended himself on Saturday for having shown arrogance: “I heard people say that we were arrogant. There’s really no reason to be, we missed the last two World Cups,” he recalled.
“It all made me sad, and I think it was disrespectful to have been filmed at that moment,” he regretted.
“We absolutely want to qualify for this World Cup, we are a group that lives well together. We expect a hot atmosphere but we are Italy and we have to put in a great match,” concluded the Inter Milan full-back.
Italy did not participate in the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, failing each time in the play-offs, against Sweden for the Russian World Cup and against North Macedonia four years later.
