Italy coach: ‘Never meant it was unfortunate to play Israel’ – Gennaro Gattuso clarifies he only meant his team ‘unlucky’ to face a strong side like Israel, not making a political statement; ‘It is a good team with players who can cause us problems,’ he says, apologizing for the misunderstanding | ynetglobal

Italy national soccer team coach Gennaro Gattuso said Sunday his remarks about being “unlucky” to face Israel in qualifying had been misinterpreted, stressing he meant Israel was a strong opponent and not making a political statement.
Gattuso spoke at a press conference ahead of Italy’s World Cup qualifier against Israel on Monday in Debrecen. “I apologize if anyone misunderstood,” he said. “I only said we were unlucky to face Israel in our group, because it is a good team with players who can cause us problems. That’s all I meant… I apologize to everyone — I never meant it was unfortunate that we had to play against Israel. Never. Allow me to say, the words reported in Israel did not reflect my intention at all.”