Gennaro Gattuso's agent, Claudio Pasqualin, has sought to defend the midfielder's behaviour at the end of the Champions League game against Tottenham Hotspur by claiming the Milan captain had been subjected to provocative comments from Joe Jordan before he head-butted the Spurs first-team coach after the final whistle. Pasqualin said Jordan had called Gattuso, who is facing a lengthy European ban, a "fucking Italian bastard".
Uefa has confirmed it has begun disciplinary proceedings against Gattuso, who apologised for his conduct immediately after the match and said that he would accept any suspension. Pasqualin, though, has left open the possibility that the midfielder could contest any ban he is given by Uefa's control and disciplinary committee, which will convene on Monday to discuss Gattuso's conduct at the end of Tottenham's 1-0 victory in the first leg of their last-16 tie at San Siro.
"What seems evident to me is that my client was strongly provoked by Joe Jordan," Pasqualin said. "Jordan, having continuously heckled him, insulted him with a truly low phrase, saying: 'Fucking Italian bastard.' For one like Rino, who has a strong sense of his Italian identity, I think this is the most disgusting and unjustifiable of insults."
The allegations, even if correct, are unlikely to save Gattuso from being severely reprimanded. Harry Redknapp vehemently denied Pasqualin's claims. "This is a case of someone playing the race card, trying to deflect from what happened," Tottenham's manager told the Sun. "Joe is not, and never has been, a racist. There is no chance of Joe saying that. He has the utmost respect for Italy and their people. Italians are among his close friends, he speaks the language and is a great admirer of their way of life.
"Joe never said anything. Why anyone would come out with this, after Gattuso has apologised and called his own behaviour inexcusable, is beyond me."
Uefa is expected to take a dim view of Gattuso's actions, especially as his behaviour appeared to be premeditated. Gattuso, who had clashed with Jordan on the touchline during the match, walked over to shake Redknapp's hand at the final whistle before approaching Jordan, a former Milan player. The Spurs manager believed Gattuso was going to apologise to the coach but instead the midfielder butted the 59-year-old.
As a mêlée ensued, Gattuso was dragged away before being escorted down the tunnel via a separate entrance. It has since emerged that several Milan players, including Kevin-Prince Boateng and Alessandro Nesta, tried to calm Gattuso down before he got to the dressing room. "You have to stop, Rino," said one of his team-mates before warning Gattuso that he was running the risk of being suspended for a considerable period.
Uefa has heavily punished players for serious misconduct in the past. In 1996 George Weah was given a six-match ban while playing for Milan after he broke Jorge Costa's nose with a head-butt in the tunnel after a game. Lazio's Sinisa Mihajlovic was suspended for eight matches in 2003 for spitting at and kicking Chelsea's Adrian Mutu, and for showing improper conduct towards an official in a Champions League fixture. More recently, Didier Drogba was given a six-match ban that was reduced to three on appeal after he re-emerged from the tunnel and confronted the referee following Chelsea's defeat by Barcelona in 2009.
Gattuso has long had a reputation for being a combustible character but Redknapp was taken aback by his behaviour. "When he came over at the end of the game, I thought he was going to apologise to Joe," he said. "I shook hands with him, I thought he was OK and realised he'd made a mistake. Next thing I know he's nutted Joe. Joe's the quietest man in the world, but a very hard man. You wouldn't want to pick an argument with him."
Peter Crouch, who was involved in a spat with Gattuso before scoring the only goal of the game, claimed the Italian was trying to provoke Spurs players. "I think top players don't like losing and when they do, they get riled and do anything to try and rattle you," Crouch said. "I think Gattuso was happy to wind up anyone who would listen, to be honest. I think Gattuso has done that throughout his career; he's always tried to wind people up, and, thankfully, we didn't rise to it. I think we were very professional."
Uefa, meanwhile, has confirmed Mathieu Flamini will not be punished for his two-foot tackle on Vedran Corluka. Flamini was booked for the challenge that ended Corluka's participation in the match, prompting Redknapp to call for Uefa to review a tackle he described as an "absolute disgrace".
Uefa will not, however, be taking any retrospective action because Stéphane Lannoy, the French referee, booked Flamini, and is therefore deemed to have dealt with the incident at the time. "If he's been shown a card nothing can be done," a Uefa spokesman said. Corluka will see a specialist on Thursday to ascertain the extent of the damage to his right ankle after undergoing a scan.
Jonathan Woodgate also suffered an injury at San Siro, where he came on for his first appearance since November 2009. A scan on Wednesday evening showed he strained the left adductor muscle. He will be assessed over the next few days.