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FOOTBALL

Football: Gianluigi Buffon strips to his briefs after Juventus draw

Footballers usually throw their jersey to fans at the final whistle, but Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stunned one supporter by giving him his shorts after Wednesday's Champions League draw against Barcelona.

Published: 23 November 2017 14:34 CET
Football: Gianluigi Buffon strips to his briefs after Juventus draw
Gianluigi Buffon takes off his shorts in Turin. Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

The 39-year-old Buffon was competing for the first time since his emotional international retirement after Italy's failure to qualify for the World Cup.

Barcelona advanced to the last 16 after the 0-0 draw in Turin but Juventus remain second in the group and can secure their qualification with victory at Olympiakos on December 5th.

An exuberant Buffon ran to hug Barcelona's Ivan Rakitic after the game following a social media exchange on the eve of the game when the Croatian had said he would love to tell Italian goalkeeping great to take his place in the 2018 World Cup.

After embracing Rakitic, Buffon then pulled off his orange shorts and ran towards the tunnel in his Y-fronts to the cheers of the delighted crowd.


Photo: Marco Bertorello/AFP

“This is only a point tonight, but it's a good point,” Buffon later tweeted. “It's always a pleasure and an honour to play against great champions, like Ivan Rakitic.”

Buffon – who earned a record 175 caps for Italy over 20 years – had been targeting a record sixth World Cup appearance in Russia.

He announced his international retirement after the 1-0 play-off defeat to Sweden which saw Italy miss the World Cup for the first time in 60 years.

Playing likely his final season with Juventus, Buffon has one final ambition: to win the Champions League, after finishing runner-up twice in the past three years.

FOOTBALL

Euro 2020: Concern about virus spread after Italy players’ ‘unauthorised’ victory parade through Rome

Italy’s national football team reportedly insisted on taking an open-top bus tour through Rome to show off their European Championship trophy to crowds of fans - despite city authorities forbidding it amid concern about the spread of coronavirus.

Published: 15 July 2021 09:37 CEST
Euro 2020: Concern about virus spread after Italy players' ‘unauthorised’ victory parade through Rome
Photo: Tiziana Fabi/AFP

The team’s bus parade through the city on Monday night following their Euro 2020 triumph “was not authorised”, according to Matteo Piantedosi the head of Rome’s prefettura (the public safety authority).

Thousands of fans packed the streets of central Rome to see the team celebrate their cup win after beating England on penalties in the final.

READ ALSO: ‘Football came home’: Italy celebrates Euro 2020 victory over England

Piantedosi told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera on Wednesday: “We had denied permission to celebrate Italy’s victory in the European Championships on the open bus, but the pact was not respected.”

Piantedosi, who is Rome’s top public security official, said police had “no choice” but to let the parade go ahead after players Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci insisted on it.

Photo: Vincenzo Pinto/AFP

A meeting had been held on Friday with the Italian football federation (FIGC) to discuss plans for the celebrations if Italy won, said Piantedosi.

“I had agreed the line with Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and Chief of Police Lamberto Giannini,” he said.

“It was clearly explained that [the parade] was not possible. We said we could not authorize it.”

Piantedosi said the Italian football federation (FIGC) initially agreed to hold a “controlled” ceremony in Rome’s central Piazza del Popolo instead of the parade.

After players insisted on the bus tour on Monday however, Piantedosi said, authorities reluctantly let them go ahead due to fears of sparking public disorder.

“At that point we had no choice but to acknowledge the situation and handle it in the best way we could,” he said.

READ ALSO: Covid cases on the rise in Europe once again as WHO warns of Euro 2020 risk

Photo: Andreas Solaro/AFP

In a statement on Wednesday, the FIGC said it had acted responsibly but decided not to disappoint fans who had come to celebrate with the team.

Footage of large crowds thronging the bus carrying the ‘Azzurri’ and the European Championship trophy through the capital however fuelled concerns about new outbreaks of coronavirus, after Italy’s infection rate began to rise again last week.

The World Health Organization warned earlier this month that crowds and gatherings connected to football matches will fuel a new rise in cases across Europe this summer.

READ ALSO: Delta variant in Italy will be ‘prevalent within 10 days’: health official

Italy’s health minister Roberto Speranza also voiced concerns on Monday about the consequences of people gathering to watch sporting events.

He said the European football championship win was “a great joy after terrible months,” but “even in these moments of national pride we can’t forget that our ‘game’ to defeat Covid is not yet won.”

There are currently minimal health restrictions in place across Italy, however masks are supposed to be worn in crowded public places, including outdoors.

“Footage shows that police were virtually the only ones [in the crowd] wearing masks,” said Piantedosi.

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