Derby d’Italia: Bastoni reacts to social media insults and threats

Alessandro Bastoni has reacted to countless insults and threats in the aftermath of the Derby d’Italia between Inter and Juventus on Saturday night. 

The Inter defender was forced to silence the fans on his social media platforms over the matter.

The Nerazzurri emerged winners from the derby ( 3-2)   against their arch rivals on Saturday evening, with an own goal from Andrea Cambiaso and individual efforts from Pio Esposito and Piotr Zielinski. 

Bastoni became the talk of the game after deceiving the referee, who handed Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu a red card.

This is a case of a wrong send-off that has led to several reactions.  Kalulu was sent off in the 42nd minute for a second bookable offence, which got Bastoni right in the middle of the drama. 

Bastoni dived under the apparent challenge of Kalulu in an attempt to get his opponent sent off, and he succeeded as Referee Federico La Penna immediately brought out his cards and dismissed the Frenchman. 

Bastoni, who celebrated the decision, has faced several instances of backlash on social media. Replays showed he had clearly dived to sell the referee.

Bastoni was already on a yellow card at the time, meaning he would have been sent off if he had been booked for simulation. 

Since the end of the derby, Bastoni has faced plenty of criticism, especially from fans, referees, and pundits.

This has even led some to call for his omission from the Italy national team squad.

Many fans have gone further, sending insults to Bastoni directly, which has led to his having to turn off the comments on all of the posts on his Instagram profile. 

This has made the 26-year-old make no comment publicly since the end of the derby. 

It will be a hard call to make for Genarro Gatusso to drop from the national team, as he is an important player who can play any role in the defence.

The decision of the national team lies with the coach and the FA, while Christian Chivu isn’t looking like removing him from the first team as well.