A female Italian football reporter has defended Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti after he kissed her live on air during an interview.
Federica Zille, 35, was speaking to the veteran boss after his side’s 2-2 draw with Lazio and had asked him about one of the controversial moments in the game.
Spalletti, 66, was trying to argue that contact between players in the box is normal and not everything needs to be penalised.
In making his point, he said ‘there is contact’ and leaned towards Zille, kissing her on the shoulder, to the amusement of the panel in the television studio.
He said: ‘The rules are too rigid right now, it is the rigidity that I find to be the problem. If nobody even realises it hit a hand, who is damaged by that? The analysts keep saying “there was contact,” but that doesn’t mean anything, does it? May I kiss you, here, this is contact’, he directed towards Zille before giving her a peck.
Zille, who works for DAZN as a pitchside reporter, has since shut down suggestions that Spalletti behaved inappropriately.
Spalletti gave Federica Zille a kiss on the shoulder and she insisted there was no ill-intent
The reporter said she saw some claim it was harassment and baulked at those claims
‘There was no malice in Spalletti’s gesture,’ she explained on Fantacalcio TV.
‘He wanted to illustrate what he was saying, which is that there’s a difference between contact and a foul.
‘I know Spalletti, and many say, “Hey, he wouldn’t have allowed himself to do that to a man.” No, he would have elbowed a man to show that it was a foul, not just contact.’
‘I wouldn’t want anyone to read this situation as malice or disrespectful, either to me as a woman or as a journalist, or as a professional.
‘I’ve read comments where the word “harassment” has even been used. I found it truly exaggerated, if not downright incorrect, to use the word “harassment” in these cases, because harassment is a serious matter.
‘And as a woman, I feel strongly about this issue, but even more so, in this case, we need to be clear-headed and give it the weight it deserves.’
When Spalletti continued his answer on the live broadcast, he said: ‘It’s about context, contact is not the same thing as impact.
‘There will always be difficulty if there are rules where every touch of the hand is a penalty, every step on foot is a penalty. This is what VAR is for, you can evaluate the context in its totality.’
Zille regularly posts updates from her professional and personal life on Instagram to her 70,000 followers.
Zille said she wouldn’t want anyone to read this situation as malice or disrespectful
Only last year she shared post-game snaps of her interviewing Spalletti on a separate occasion on the day of the Turin derby.
Spalletti is one of the most decorated coaches in Italy and known for his emotive, passionate style of communication.
The Juventus boss took the helm in Turin after the sacking of Igor Tudor earlier in the season and his side are currently fourth after Sunday’s draw with Lazio.
He led Napoli to the Scudetto in 2022-23 and presided over two Italian Cup wins for Roma, also finding success with two domestic titles for Zenit St Petersburg during a stint in Russia.
