Gennaro Gattuso was involved in a heated exchange with pundit and former player Josko Jelicic on live television after Hajduk Split’s 3-0 defeat to Rijeka in the Croatian league.
Speaking to MaxSport1 post-match, Gattuso immediately confronted Jelicic, a former player and current analyst, over past criticisms.
“I won’t shake your hand, you talk too much,” Gattuso said. “You were a player, you should understand certain things, but you have no respect.”
Jelicic responded bluntly: “You play terribly.”
The tension escalated as Gattuso, pointing his finger close to Jelicic’s face, raised his voice. “You need to respect people,” he said. Jelicic, remaining composed, told him: “Don’t use your hand.”
“This is my style,” Gattuso replied. “You must have respect.”
Jelicic attempted to defuse the situation, responding in Spanish: “Forget the hand, let’s talk about football calmly.” But Gattuso remained agitated, insisting: “You need to show respect. Don’t just comment from a studio, say it to my face.”
Jelicic urged the Italian coach to accept differing opinions. “You come from Italy, you should be open to other perspectives,” he said.
Gattuso, however, made his stance clear. “This is the last time I’m here. I won’t speak to this channel again if he’s on it,” he declared. “Because he is a bad person.”
The result saw Hajduk lose top spot in the table, falling to 48 points, while Rijeka moved ahead with 50.
