Conte apologises for gesture in Juventus draw
Antonio Conte has apologised for his actions during Inter Milan's Coppa Italia exit to Juventus, saying he should have "reacted differently" after he was "insulted".
The Inter coach, previously in charge in Turin, aimed an insulting gesture at Juve chairman Andrea Agnelli as the pair traded comments at Allianz Stadium.
The Bianconeri earned a goalless draw to advance to the final 2-1 on aggregate, but Conte was apologetic when revisiting the incident ahead of Inter's Serie A meeting with Lazio on Monday (AEDT).
However, the former Italy boss, who said after the game Juve "need more sportsmanship and respect", suggested he was insulted first.
Conte said: "I want to only talk about football during the press conference, so I will say this before we begin: I am here to apologise.
"I reacted in the wrong way to being insulted. I could have reacted differently and that would have been more positive.
"I am sorry and I will learn from this for future reference. The insults and provocation should not be an excuse, because I still shouldn't have responded like that.
"Everyone saw what happened; that is important to me.
"However, we as coaches, players and presidents are meant to set an example and therefore I should have reacted to insults and provocation in a different way - perhaps with a thumbs up or applause, to show I could hear what was being said, but it would've been a more positive response.
"Having said all that, now we should concentrate on the game. People want to talk about football, not gossip."
