Andrea Agnelli has provided his view on the events that unfolded at the end of Saturday night’s meeting between Juventus and Genoa.
The Bianconeri president was speaking from the Gran Galà del Calcio AIC 2012, where he was joined by Giuseppe Marotta, Aldo Mazzia, Antonio Conte, Gigi Buffon, Andrea Pirlo and Andrea Barzagli.
Agnelli began: “There are games that have a lot riding on them and people get caught up in the emotion and tension of the occasion. You can't really expect them to behave like English lords at the end of the match, especially when you have such a glaring episode right before the final whistle.
“You will always get reactions in football. Certain things always get blown up when they happen to Juventus, but you shouldn't manipulate comments made in the heat of the moment. Marotta maintained a very calm tone yesterday and it's up to the people who select referees to decide how appropriate certain appointments are.
“Depending on which refereeing appointments are made in future, we'll see if what was said was deemed appropriate or not. Having said that, we must move on and remember that whoever finishes top in May will be there deservedly.
“We have very high expectations and we know that it's more difficult to win the second time round. The teams behind us have legitimate title ambitions and Napoli should be seen as a serious Scudetto contender because they have great players and a very capable coach.”
While the next few months will prove decisive in the title race, the next few years will be a crucial period for the future of Italian football. A future that Juventus are already preparing for.
“The investments that the club has made in the last two or three years will bear fruit. I'm talking about the J-College, which enables our youngsters to combine their academic commitments with their sports activities, the stadium, which makes headlines when it's 'only' 90% full, and the J-Museum, which has already received over 110,000 visitors in just over six months.
“We want to keep aiming higher, drawing inspiration from the very best in European and American sport. There are three main sources of income for sports clubs: TV rights, gate receipts and commercial earnings. The clubs that lead the way in these areas are Spanish, English and German, in that order, but Juve are on a par with the best clubs in Europe.”
Source: Juventus.com
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