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Palermo president defends his `crafty little gypsy' remark

Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini was unrepentant on Tuesday after calling Fiorentina's Romanian striker Adrian Mutu a "crafty little gypsy."

Zamparini made the remark after the controversial opening goal scored by Mutu against Palermo in their Serie A match last Sunday.

Palermo defender Roberto Guana pulled up with a hamstring injury while running with the ball, handing Fiorentina possession. The move upfield which followed led to Mutu putting the visitors ahead. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.

Palermo coach Francesco Guidolin was sent off for insulting the Fiorentina coach and their players, and on Tuesday was given a three-match touchline ban and fined for his behavior.

Zamparini is never far from controversy in Italy and on Tuesday he tried to justify his attack on Mutu.

"When I spoke about Adrian Mutu, describing him as a `crafty little gypsy,' I did not mean to offend him," Zamparini said.

"On the contrary, I was simply justifying his behavior, remembering that he comes from post-communist Romania. What Mutu did was an instinct that comes with his nationality," he said.

"Say for example, Diego Maradona had been born in Oxford instead of the Argentine suburbs, he would never have scored the `Hand of God' goal at the [1986] World Cup," Zamparini said.

"Craftiness is a Romanian characteristic, they have it in their DNA. They developed it as part of their survival instinct," he added.
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