Bastoni turns Inter jeers to joy after World Cup heartbreak and ‘ugly’ wobble | Nicky Bandini

Bastoni turns Inter jeers to joy after World Cup heartbreak and ‘ugly’ wobble Targeted after Italy’s failure and for his dive in the Derby d’Italia, Alessandro Bastoni returned to form against Roma I taly were too afraid to play a World Cup qualifying playoff at San Siro, hosting their semi-final against Northern Ireland in Bergamo instead. Gennaro Gattuso explained it as a choice to protect his players, noting that the nation’s biggest football stadium was home to two rival clubs – Milan and Internazionale – and suggesting this dynamic might lead fans there to turn more quickly on players who struggled. Instead, on Sunday, it was San Siro that offered comfort to one who has become the scapegoat for yet another collective failure. Italy made it past Northern Ireland only to lose to Bosnia on penalties in Zenica. Alessandro Bastoni’s first-half red card, at a time when his country were winning 1-0, was a pivotal moment in the game and perhaps his entire career. He had already been cast as a villain in his home country after February’s Derby d’Italia, when he got Pierre Kalulu sent off by diving . The Inter defender’s greater sin, for many supporters, was the way he celebrated the success of this deception, pumping his fists and roaring after his opponent was unfairly dismissed. Since then, he has been jeered and whistled each time he touches the ball in every away game for Inter. Even at Lecce, a club whose supporters have no traditional rivalry with the Nerazzurri , and Como’s Stadio Sinigaglia, Bastoni was targeted relentlessly. Was it all a little out of proportion? Bastoni apologised at a press conference a few days after the Juventus game, acknowledging he had exaggerated the contact with Kalulu and calling his reaction to the red card “really ugly”. Still, did that justify the death threats he said had been sent to his wife, Camilla Bresciani, on social media? Even among those who agree things have been taken too far, there will be plenty who view his red card ...