Inter president Beppe Marotta has launched a staunch defense of Alessandro Bastoni following his red card for Italy in World Cup qualifying.
Italy legend Giuseppe Bergomi said in the wake of Italy’s defeat that Bastoni “will have to find a club abroad” for his own sake following his sending off.
Yet Marotta has hit back at the criticism his defender has received and insists that is not the case at all.
“It is shameful that Bastoni is exposed to this continual lynching in the media, as if he was guilty
of who knows what,” he told DAZN.
“If you look at the World Cup elimination, the reasons behind that go much further back. In any case, a lad of his age does not deserve this kind of treatment. People make mistakes in life, but in Italy everyone thinks they are experts and psychologists, without knowing the kind of man and professional they are dealing with.
“He made a mistake, we all recognised that, but it can happen for a lad of his age. Having said all of that, Bastoni is an asset of Inter and of Italian football.
“I was reading in the paper that it was almost an obligation for him to leave this shirt and this country, but there are no such extremes. As with all players, we’ll discuss their future later on.”
Barcelona continue to be linked with a move for Bastoni, with Inter thought to be willing to sell for a fee of around 60 million euros.
