Inter Milan wingback Federico Dimarco denies that his celebration was meant to deliberately insult Hellas Verona striker Thomas Henry.

The 26-year-old posted on his Instagram to clarify what his intend had been when he celebrated after the Frenchman missed a penalty late in this afternoon’s Serie A match.

This afternoon’s match at the San Siro had the most dramatic of endings.

It was already several minutes into stoppage time when Davide Frattesi scored Inter’s late winner.

It seemed as though Frattesi’s strike would be the last word.

Particularly after Hellas Verona went down to ten men due to Darko Lazovic’s sending-off.

But the Gialloblu were to have one more golden chance.

This came in the form of a penalty, as Michael Fabbri pointed to the spot after being advised by VAR to look at a challenge by Inter defender Matteo Darmian on his monitor.

Henry, who had already scored for Verona with his first kick of the match after being introduced as a second half substitute, was the man tasked with taking the penalty.

But the 29-year-old former Venezia striker was unable to convert it.

Henry did send Inter keeper Yann Sommer the wrong way with a stutter-step. But he hit the post.

Federico Dimarco Denies Deliberate Insult To Thomas Henry With Celebration

Naturally, the Inter players were elated at Henry’s missed effort.

It was a bit let-off that meant that the Nerazzurri held on to their lead. And it was all the more emotional given the emotional rollercoaster that the last ten minutes of the match had been,

Dimarco seemed to celebrate right in front of Verona striker Henry.

But the Italian international denies that he meant to specifically mock or insult the striker.

“Did I celebrate?” Dimarco posted. “Yes, I celebrated a lot.”

“Without insulting anyone, without rude gestures. I celebrated intensely because of the win, because of the nerves and the let-off that it was.”

“It’s sport, and that’s one thing that makes it beautiful.”

“Unfortunately, sport is also harsh and cruel towards those on the other side.”

“And I’m sorry if all that pent-up joy instinctively exploded in the face of Thomas Henry, who had missed a penalty and then I celebrated right in front of him.”

“In my gut, I’m honest. Some will say that it’s not a beautiful thing and they’re probably right, but I didn’t want to offend anyone.”

“So much so that at the final whistle, even before celebrating with my teammates, I went to embrace him.”

“And I did the same thing in the locker room after the match with my former teammates.”

Dimarco spent the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons on loan with Verona.

“Because this is sport. You win, you lose, you celebrate, you cry, and in the end you embrace each other.”

“To anyone who tries to moralize this, I say: Criticize me, but look at everything that happened on the pitch. Not just the things that are convenient to you.”