Derby Inter-Milan, Lautaro against Theo Hernandez, insults and yellow spit

Valerio Piccioni and Davide Stoppini

February 8
– Milan

There is a yellow on the most poisonous moment of the derby on Saturday. It is the one in which Lautaro Martinez, already replaced, addresses with presumably not exactly idyllic phrases to Theo Hernandez, while the Frenchman goes down to the locker room after the red for the foul on Dumfries. In the first part of the day, attention was focused on an alleged spit of the Inter, conspicuously frustrated by the game overturned in a few minutes. The video, bounced on social media, does not clarify either one way or the other whether it was actually spit. Certainly, there were no signs last night of an image capture by the federal prosecutor’s office. However, this does not exclude that the federal inspectors have seen and heard the contents of the episode and may have reported it to the sports judge and the federal prosecutor. And the fear of Inter mainly concerns the insults that the Argentine would have pronounced against the French.

At Inter the question of the alleged spit is reduced. The footballer, when questioned on the matter, assured that he had not done anything. From Appiano they strongly emphasize how the player was speaking excitedly, at the moment (for some) indicted: it is difficult, even if one wishes, to combine words and spit so quickly. But net of other explanations, Inter’s apprehension was centered on something else. The vehemence with which Lautaro heads towards the changing room tunnel is the step immediately preceding a series of words, obviously not compliments, that the Argentine addresses to Theo Hernandez. And so the concern is all about this aspect. Did the inspectors hear at that juncture? If so, have they reported to the referee? If so, Guida would probably have written something in the report, which could lead Lautaro to a disqualification. Not even to say it: for Inzaghi it would be a considerable damage, before Napoli-Inter. Moreover, the positions of the coach and Bastoni, who are very agitated in the post game and also at risk of reporting, must also be verified.

Here Milan

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For Milan and Theo the story would have ended in the super-adrenaline-pumping moment of a derby won with a real turnaround. The Frenchman would not have reported anything strange to society, beyond a physiological anger at how things turned out. At Milan they do not want to follow up and generate a tension that could make an environment nervous that instead is enjoying the narrow escape (in terms of the possibility of continuing to believe in the Scudetto). It is of course not the first time that a derby has generated this type of episode such as the famous close-range match in the Coppa Italia derby between Ibra and Lukaku. The federal inspectors’ report will naturally weigh on the outcome of the affair. There is also the possibility of a lightning investigation in these hours to listen to the protagonists. But a decision could also be delayed to allow the prosecutor to continue with the investigation, so as to arrive at a complete reconstruction of what happened.

Code

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The sports justice code provides for different types of sanctions depending on the content of the insults (for racist or discriminatory ones it can even go up to 10 days, but this is not the case). On the other hand, what happened, if ascertained, could fall within the case of article 39, on “seriously sporting conduct” which provides for a minimum of two days of disqualification. Either way, not a simple skein to unravel.