By Chris Wright
Unsurprisingly, Fiorentina midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has been forced to issue a grovelling apology for letting a little chuckle slip out during a pre-game minute’s silence for the victims of the recent flash-flooding in and around Genoa…
After the game against Chievo on Sunday afternoon, Montolivo apologised profusely for his lack of tact, saying:
“I am ashamed of my smile during the minute’s silence. It’s a gesture that I don’t remember but it’s inexplicable and absolutely out of place. I didn’t realise the minute’s silence had already started and the tension ahead of the game can sometimes make you do things that you would not do otherwise.
However, there are no excuses for that and hence, I apologise to all the people that felt offended by it and I send my condolences to the families of the victims of the flash floods.”
Only it seems that Montolivo may have actually had a fairly solid reason for giggling while the rest of his teammates mourned the lives lost in the floods – according to Gazzetta dello Sport journo Andrea Saronni, Fiorentina’s Alessandro Gamberini let out a cheeky little bum trumpet!
I’d defy you to keep a straight face as some unruly git along the line unleashed a Tommy Trumper during a prolonged period of austere silence.
That’s right people, I’d defy you! Farting is the great leveller.