Inter’s Curva Nord have reiterated their hard-line stance towards Mauro Icardi on the eve of the striker’s return to San Siro.
Icardi will start up front for the Nerazzurri when they take on Atalanta tomorrow but the ultras group will not provide him with a warm welcome, having been disgusted by the former captain’s refusal to play after being stripped of the captaincy.
However, the Curva also hinted they will attempt to ignore Icardi instead of chanting against him for 90 minutes, deeming the Argentine to be unworthy of their attention.
“Awaiting tomorrow’s important game, we reiterate the position of the Curva Nord,” a statement read on Saturday morning.
“We are not ones to dictate what other fans at San Siro ought to do. We are not interested in making lists of who is better or more of an Inter fan.
“We will not back down on Icardi. He cannot be the future of Inter. Refusing to wear the shirt on more than one occasion with ridiculous excuses, he dug his own grave.
“If the employees of Inter were too wavering in their behaviour, that cannot be our problem. The basic issue remains. Let’s leave the fairy-tales to issues of internal survival in a split that, at this stage, looks to be irreparable.
“As far as we are concerned, the time of ‘I’d like to, but I can’t’ is over. We manifested our views at the Pinetina training ground and during the Genoa game. We’ll continue to express it during the matches with the methods we consider most opportune.
“Having said that, we are fans. We go to the stadium to cheer on Inter, to lead it to victory. Not to give more importance than necessary to a figure who we, evidently with foresight, had finished with a long time ago.
“No, do not ‘fear,’ Icardi will be ‘considered’… as much as is right. Perhaps those who expect 90 minutes of chants against him will be disappointed… but let’s not confuse what is best for Inter with hypocrisy.”
