Serbian national team manager Ljubisa Tumbakovic has come to the defence of Inter defender Aleksandar Kolarov following the recent criticism he has been subjected to.
Kolarov went on national team duty despite carrying an injury but did not play in their EURO 2020 play-off final to Scotland and this led to him being criticised and all sort of claims being made such as Inter banned him from playing.
“I am particularly annoyed by things falsely said by the media and things that have not been checked. Knowing Kolarov, if he had had the slightest chance to play, he would have,” he explained at a press conference earlier on today.
“There is no problem here. He has been a member of the national team for 15 years he has been put in a situation where he needs to justify himself and some people don’t believe in the correct manner of how he acted regarding how it was impossible for him to play. I am absolutely on Kolarov’s side.”
Tumbakovic was then asked whether it was true that Kolarov refused to come off of the substitutes bench to take a penalty against Scotland: “Aleksandar is a great guy, a member of the national team and a great person. He was not on the team that day and it is logical that he did not want to shoot.”
Kolarov was sent home from the national team due to his condition and in the days since his return he has tested positive for COVID-19.
The recently turned 35-year-old joined Inter for a nominal fee from fellow Serie A club Roma and has since went on to make six appearances across all competitions to date for the Nerazzurri, in which he has tallied a single assist.
