Douglas Costa insisted that he apologised to Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri after being sent off for spitting in the face of Sassuolo’s Federico Di Francesco.
The Brazilian lost his cool in the dying moments of the Bianconeri’s 2-1 win at the Allianz Stadium in September, lashing out at Di Francesco before spitting in his opponent’s face and being sent off after a VAR review.
After subsequently being hit with a four-match league ban, the former Bayern Munich star maintained his silence on the issue but opened up whilst on international duty with Brazil, declaring that he had apologised immediately and regretted the bust-up.
“After spitting at Di Francesco, I spoke to the coach face-to-face and he told me exactly what he thought,” Costa declared during a press conference alongside Brazil tactician Tite.
“I respect him a lot and apologised immediately. It was a bad episode and not in my character, it has never happened before in my career. Now I hope to put it behind me and continue working hard.”
Costa will be looking to add to his 29 caps when Brazil take on Uruguay and Cameroon in friendly matches in London this week.
Source: forzaitalianfootball.com