Inter boss saddened by ban

Internazionale president Giacinto Facchetti admits he is saddened by the penalties imposed by UEFA following crowd trouble in Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final with AC Milan.

Serious crowd trouble caused the abandonment of the match with Milan goalkeeper Nelson Dida injured by a flare thrown by an Inter fan in the San Siro - one of hundreds of missiles hurled onto the pitch as AC Milan posted a 3-0 aggregate win over their city rivals.

UEFA handed down a six-match ban that will see Inter forced to play matches behind closed doors at the San Siro although two of those matches are suspended, meaning effectively a four-game ban.

Facchetti told www.gazzetta.it: “We were hoping to have as few (banned) days as possible and now we will see what the reasons are.

“It is very sad to be playing behind closed doors and it will not be easy for the players to find the right atmosphere.”

Facchetti claimed there was little the club could do to stop violence, saying: “From abroad, it’s difficult to understand some things about Italian football - certain incidents – because they think control in the stadium depends on the clubs.”