Inter director Beppe Marotta says Simone Inzaghi was ‘unfairly criticized’ after reaching the Champions League quarter-final and promises to file a formal complaint with UEFA after a thousand fans saw each other deny access to the Porto game.
The Nerazzurri had a 1-0 first leg lead thanks to late Romelu Lukaku’s goal and defended it tooth and nail at the Estadio do Dragao.
The last four Italian teams to visit the arena have come out undone, but Inter’s goalless draw secured their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
“We celebrate this passage that Inter had not achieved for 12 years, we pay tribute to our coach, our players and the supporters who were present,” Marotta told Sky Sport Italia.
“I also want to spare a thought for around a thousand fans who have been left outside the stadium even after regularly buying a ticket. It was unexpected and we will obviously be filing a formal complaint with UEFA for having a clear idea of what happened.
“I saw images of families who were locked out, of crying children who had flown in from Italy. Football should represent unity and joy, so this is a bittersweet page in what was otherwise a wonderful evening.
“We had met the local authorities this morning and they had assured us that fans would be allowed to enter even beyond the boundaries of the outer section. Instead, that did not happen.
“Most of them were families with children, who were certainly not there to perpetrate acts of violence, but to support their team. I don’t think the situation was serious enough to prohibit their entry.
“We realize that UEFA is not to blame, but we believe that with an official complaint we can prevent this sort of thing from happening again.”
There were a series of calls this morning when FC Porto announced that they would not let any Inter supporters into areas other than the away section, even if they bought the tickets legally.
He was then assured they would be admitted as long as they did not have Inter shirts or scarves to stand out, but when kick-off arrived, a thousand fans remained locked in outside.
Inter have once again proven they are committed to the big occasion, but it’s in the smaller matches that they tend to stumble, losing recently to Bologna and Spezia in Serie A.
“There has been a lack of consistency this season but there doesn’t seem to be an adequate explanation as to why. Overall we can only be happy as we are still competing on three fronts and it’s a credit to the coach – who has been unfairly criticized lately – and the team,” Marotta continued.
“The inconsistency has been more widespread than last season, but we also have to take our hat off to the extraordinary campaign that Napoli have had, which hasn’t been seen for many years.
Are there any preferences for the draw ahead of the quarter-final, which will also include Milan and – hopefully – Napoli?
“On the one hand, we want an opponent of great prestige, on the other the best opportunity to qualify for the next round. We’ll see what the draw has in store for us.
“The Champions League is a tournament, not a real league, so you have to have a good night in that particular game to go through and get lucky on your side.”
