AC Milan legend Paolo Maldini has hit out at the club over their failure to condemn fans who chanted against him following his final match at the San Siro on Sunday.
The clash against AS Roma was supposed to be a celebration of the 40-year-old defender’s 24 years as a player for the club.
But firstly the visitors inflicted a 3-2 defeat on Maldini and his teammates and then a section of fans jeered him and unfurled derogatory banners criticizing him.
In yesterday’s Gazzetta dello Sport Maldini lashed out at club officials who had failed to back him over the incident.
“I’m disappointed with the club’s silence. I’m not happy that they didn’t take a stance,” he said. “There hasn’t even been one single statement, no official has spoken out ... I think a team like Milan should disassociate itself from certain incidents.”
LAP OF HONOR
Maldini played in his 901st game for Milan against Roma and after the match went on a lap of honor around the stadium.
But while the vast majority of fans applauded him, some chanted the name of former captain and Maldini predecessor Franco Baresi.
There were also banners unfurled criticizing Maldini over an incident in 2005 when the defender hit out at a section of fans who had jeered his team when they failed to hold onto a 3-0 lead against Liverpool in the Champions League final in Istanbul, eventually losing it on penalties.
And Maldini admitted his San Siro swansong left him bruised.
“I was hurt. 70,000 people cheered me, 500 wanted to ruin the party,” he said.
IGNOMINY
The party could turn even more sour if Milan lose their final match of the season — and the last of Maldini’s career — on Sunday at Fiorentina as they would risk missing out on a top three finish and would then face the ignominity of needing to negotiate two qualifying rounds to reach next season’s Champions League group stages.
Milan, however, were quick to respond with vice-president Adriano Galliani immediately publishing an open letter on the club’s Web site.
“I’ve read your interview and I understand your bitterness,” he said. “As you know I had to be escorted [by the police] two years ago due to the behavior of those same people who chanted against you.”
“I was the one who decided to stay silent, not just because I was advised to but mostly because I believed and still do that silence is the most efficient weapon to not giving any more publicity to the behavior of Sunday,” Galliani said.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite