Spalletti criticises Chivu but defends Bastoni after Inter 3-2 Juventus controversy | OneFootball

Luciano Spalletti has criticised Inter head coach Cristian Chivu after his comments on Pierre Kalulu following the eventful Derby d’Italia in Serie A over the weekend, but has defended Alessandro Bastoni despite his role in getting the Juventus man sent off.

Inter beat Juventus 3-2 in a fiery Derby d’Italia in Serie A over the weekend in a game that was not without its controversies. Most notably, Juventus’s Kalulu was wrongly sent off for a second bookable offence in the 42nd minute.

Newspapers in Italy described the first booking as harsh, and claimed that the second was ‘absurd’ and ‘non-existent’.

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 14: Pierre Kalulu of Juventus reacts as he walks off after being sent off by Referee Federico La Penna (not pictured) for a second yellow card offence during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

That is because Inter’s Bastoni was adjudged to have dived in order to get Kalulu sent off. However, as this was a second yellow card incident and not a straight red card, VAR was not able to intervene.

For a similar reason, Bastoni will not face retrospective punishment despite the fact that he was also carrying a yellow card at the time and would have been sent off had referee Federico La Penna shown him a second yellow card instead.

Spalletti comments on Inter 3-2 Juventus controversies

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 14: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, reacts during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Juventus camp were enraged at the decision to send Kalulu off. Spalletti along with Juventus CEO Damien Comolli were seen angrily confronting referee La Penna in the tunnel after full-time.

The Bianconeri sent Comolli and director Giorgio Chiellini to talk to the press after full-time over the weekend, which means that Spalletti did not have the opportunity to give his thoughts immediately after the Inter match.

Spalletti was finally able to share his opinions on the matter during his pre-match press conference ahead of Juventus’s Champions League play-off match against Galatasaray on Monday evening.

Spalletti was not best pleased about Chivu’s decision to criticise Kalulu during his post-match interview.

Chivu had said: “I think it is a light touch, but it’s still a touch. When I dealt with similar situations in the Champions League, I told my players not to put themselves in a situation where they force the referee to make the call.

“Even if it’s light, and we have to admit it is a light touch, my player still felt the touch and was running at full speed. Kalulu is an experienced player and he ought to know that in these situations, you keep your hands to yourself.”

MONZA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 04: Cristian Chivu, Head Coach of FC Internazionale Milano, looks on prior to the Coppa Italia Quarter-Final match between FC Internazionale and Torino at U-Power Stadium on February 04, 2026 in Monza, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Giving his response on Monday evening, Spalletti replied: “I don’t want to speak over the words of Elkann and the directors. I can say that Pierre is a good guy, a decent person and the fact that he had to take a dig from an opposition coach is something I never expected.

“This would put me in a position to talk about Inter’s players and I don’t want to do that.

“Simulation is an offence to football and what I have to do is raise the team to a level where simulation does not allow others to determine games for us. What happens isn’t important, but what you do when something happens to you is. We needed to reverse the situation.

“We have to improve if we don’t want to concede that goal there, and we wanted to go and score again immediately afterwards. These are tests of maturity. Tomorrow will be a test of our maturity.”

There were some calls after the Inter vs. Juventus match that Bastoni should be dropped from the Italy national team squad as a result of his unsportsmanlike behaviour.

MILAN, ITALY – NOVEMBER 16: Alessandro Bastoni of Italy warms up prior to the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Italy and Norway at San Siro Stadium on November 16, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

As the former head coach of the Italy national team, Spalletti was asked for his opinion on that thought.

He came out in defence of Bastoni, arguing that it would not be the right decision to drop him from the Italy squad: “Absolutely, Gattuso has to be free to call up whoever he wants. Unfortunately, I am no longer CT and I will leave that situation with him. We have a strong coach, we have to leave him to be free to do what he wants.”