Italian Media Attacks Inter Striker Icardi: “Not Playing In The Derby Would Be Criminal”

Mauro Icardi was attacked by the Italian media on Friday for deserting Inter in their moment of greatest need.

Icardi has not featured for the Nerazzurri since being stripped of the club captaincy on 13 February and was again nowhere to be seen last night, as they lost to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League.

Lautaro Martinez’s suspension meant Luciano Spalletti did not have a recognised striker available at San Siro and Gazzetta dello Sport did not hold back when criticising Icardi.

“Even if this soap opera ended with a reconciliation, not having played last night – when the team was decimated up front – and not playing in the derby would be criminal,” they said.

Inter finished Thursday’s match with 16-year-old Sebastiano Esposito and 18-year-old Davide Merola playing alongside centre-back Andrea Ranocchia in attack.

“It seemed like they had almost too many forward players at the start of the season but what happened last night is symptomatic of the mistakes made when building this squad,” Gazzetta added.