da 888： Italy manager Luciano Spalletti has apologised to a journalist for saying he may be as knowledgeable as him if he "j*rks off every day for 14 years".

da gbg bet： Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Italy draw with Croatia in EurosSpalletti hits out at journalistItalian backtracks and apologisesWHAT HAPPENED?

Following Italy's dramatic 1-1 draw with Croatia to reach the last 16 of the Euros, thanks to Mattia Zaccagni's 98th-minute equaliser, coach Spalletti appeared to lose his cool in a post-match press conference. After initially lambasting a journalist, ESPN reports he later called the individual to apologise for his behaviour at 2am the next day.

AdvertisementSkyWHAT LUCIANO SPALLETTI SAID

After the Croatia draw, former Napoli boss Spalletti was asked if he and his players had made a "pact" over how to approach the crucial group stage match.

He replied: "Pact? Who told you that? Who told you that I speak to my players about such things? Whoever leaks stuff like this from inside… the pact is against us. I know what's going on here.

"How old are you? 51? Well, if you j*rk off every day for another 14 years maybe you'll know as much as me."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Italy's point against Croatia helped them reach the knockout stages of Euro 2024 but if they want to retain the title they won in 2021, they will need to improve a great deal, having failed to convince with their group stage performances.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

Italy, who came second in their group behind unbeaten Spain, face Switzerland – who were runners up in their group to Germany – in the last-16 on Saturday evening at Olympiastadion.