AS Roma Chairman James Pallotta said
Monday that he would not give coach Luciano Spalletti flak if he
decides to leave the club at the end of the season, amid the
umpteenth row about his handling of striker Francesco Totti.
Spalletti said Sunday that he would not have returned to Roma
last year if he could go back in time following Sunday's 4-1 win
at AC Milan in which he left the former Italy forward on the
bench.
Totti, 40, will stop playing at the end of season and
Spalletti was criticised for not bringing him on for a last
appearance at the San Siro, where the Milan faithful paid
tribute to the one-club player.
It is only the latest furore over the amount of playing time
Totti has been getting for Roma, who are second in Serie A.
"The coach made the right substitutions because we are
fighting (to keep second place) for (direct) access to the
Champions League," Pallotta told Il Messaggero.
"It was wonderful to see all the fans applaud Totti and his
monstrous class, but the team comes before everything.
"If he had put Totti on for the last five-six minutes, some
would have said that was not respectful.
"I wouldn't be able to blame him if he left Roma because the
media write nonsense every week".
Spalletti, who was also Roma coach from 2005 to 2009, said he
would not stay on at Roma if he does not win a title this year.
Roma are out of the Italian Cup and the Europa League and
they have little hope of overturning Juventus's seven-point lead
in Serie A with just three games to go.
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