The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced on Thursday the opening of an investigation into the insults exchanged by Andrea Agnelli, president of Juventus and Antonio Conte, Inter coach, this past Tuesday, in the second leg of the Coppa semifinals Italy between both teams.
The FIGC said in a statement that its federal prosecutor “opened an investigation into the behavior of the leaders and members of Juventus and Inter during and at the end of the semi-final round of the Italian Cup.” Among others, the fourth official of this match will be questioned, which ended 0-0, which meant Juventus went to the final, after their victory in the first leg by 1-2.
The images showed Antonio Conte and Andrea Agnelli uttering insults, in addition to an obscene gesture from the first (a comb), which said images do not allow us to see who they were directed to, but pronounced at halftime looking at the Juve area. Conte repeated when he left the pitch at the end and in the direction of Agnelli, who would have insulted him.
According to some Italian media, other leaders of the two clubs, as well as some players, are involved in these exchanges of insults.
The league sports judge did not mention these incidents in his report. This subsequently allows the Federation to initiate its own procedure if it deems it appropriate, as in the recent case of the altercation between Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Romelu Lukaku.
Asked after the game about Agnelli's attitude, Antonio Conte, who led Juve from 2011 to 2015 under his orders, said that “we must be better educated and have more respect.”
His Juve counterpart, Andrea Pirlo, for his part said that he had not seen what happened at halftime regarding Antonio Conte: “I immediately went back to the locker room,” Pirlo said.