Yesterday, the French international had accused Mihajovic of calling him a "black bastard" and a "fucking black monkey". He added: "You don't want to hear that on the pitch from another professional player."
But at a press conference at Lazio's Formello training ground, Yugoslav international Mihajlovic insisted he only acted after Vieira started taunting him. "I insulted Vieira, but only as an answer to his insults," he claimed. "He called me a gypsy shit, so I answered back with black shit. And because I am proud of being a gypsy and I wasn't offended, I don't think he can be offended because I said he was black.
"I did call him a black bastard, but I didn't call him a monkey. He doesn't look like a monkey, but if he did I would probably have called him that," he added.