Italy’s lesson for De Rossi

Italy head coach Cesare Prandelli hopes Daniele De Rossi learns a valuable lesson after dropping the Roma midfielder from his 25-man squad to face France tomorrow night.

The Giallorossi vice-captain fell foul of Prandelli’s strict code of ethics when he punched Lazio captain Stefano Mauri during Sunday’s Rome derby, which Lazio went on to win 3-2.

The door is certainly not closed on the 29-year-old, though, with Prandelli keen to hand him a significant role at the World Cup in Brazil in two years’ time, should the Azzurri qualify.