«The situation that Leonardo Bonucci is experiencing is paradoxical : he is objectively out of the squad, he suffers from illegitimate conduct prohibited by the collective agreement , his dignity is trampled on . Juve must reinstate him immediately, he is undergoing serious professional years ».

With a long interview given to Ansa by its president Umberto Calcagno , the Italian Footballers' Association (Aic) takes the field «with the captain of the national team, to whom this affair is precluding important opportunities , including the blue shirt».

«Bonucci is the tip of the iceberg in many situations – continues Calcagno -. Then there are those who, like him, have broad shoulders and go forward with their chest out, and those who instead suffer».

Juve, for its part, says that the player is treated as per collective agreements. «It's not true - replies Calcagno - it is not possible to maintain that having some players train constantly separately and at different times from the team group does not constitute a clear violation of the collective agreement. The differences that may exist within the training sessions must be temporarily dictated by technical-sporting needs. The famous Fir award determines precisely this: for example, it is normal that certain groups within a team train before or after a match or that, during the weekly work, there is a different organization of training according to roles. What cannot happen with certainty is that one or more players systematically train with a different staff than the first team or even at different times, without ever having technical indications from the first team coach».

«What is happening today to the players who suffer these particular situations is precisely a lack of respect for their professionalism – continues Calcagno -. A footballer cannot expect to play because the technical choice is unquestionable, but he has the right to be prepared on equal terms with the other teammates, because he must be able to have the same opportunities . And then in my opinion these technical choices, most of the time by the coaches who marginalize them, also create damage for the clubs. A footballer should be ready to change team if it is not part of the sporting project: therefore he must train like everyone else. But if he does it alone, or with a small number of teammates, without being able to have a complete session, you tell me if he will be ready to enter the field if transferred to another club ... So it ends up that, in Bonucci's case, Juve will have more difficult to sell him in this transfer window. And he will also, in all likelihood, end up with a million-dollar claim for compensation ».

«Bonucci has turned to his trusted lawyer, but we as Aic will give him all the necessary support. I haven't spoken to Juve, there's no interlocution, but I hope there's common sense, which means trying to go beyond personal relationships if they've cracked; here we are talking about professionalism at the highest level».

As for any frictions with coach Allegri «if, and I stress if – explains Calcagno – there had been behaviors which should have resulted in disciplinary sanctions, the ban on training with other teammates cannot be the punishment ; if there was something to reproach Bonucci for, it had to be done in another way. There should be no personal relationships that cannot be repaired from a professional point of view which, in any case, cannot affect the regular performance of work. The current situation could make Leo lose even the possibility of being called up by the new blue coach. We are talking about the captain of the national team who could also lose this chance».

(Unioneonline/vl)

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