Perugia Under Fire

Regarding the remarks by Perugia team owner, Luciano Garlic, that Ann, the South Korean golden ball hero, will never again set foot in the Italian team, The son of Lucian Garlic and the director of the team expressed regret to Ann and the Korean people.

Alexander, Garlic`s son said in an interview with Soccerage that Ahn was not sacked because of his golden goal, and that exaggerated reports of Italian media has made matters worse."

He also said in an interview with SBS, a local broadcasting system, "Yesterday I called Ahn to explain away the misunderstandings. I apologize the Korean people for my father`s remarks."

Unlike the remarks by Gaucci, Perugia coach Serse Cosmi told AFP that the decision could be nullified. He said, " I see Ahn a player with a huge potential. I have no reason to oppose if the team would renew the contract with him until the next season."

Asked if Ahn was dumped because he scored a golden goal against Italy by Soccerage, Alexandro Gaucci dismissed it as absurd, and asked back, "Then should Ahn intentionally kicked the ball off the target?"

He added, "Everything has stemmed from the distorted report by Italian media. Italian media reported that Ahn made comments offensive to the Italian football team before the match. But I confirmed with him that he never said that."

stt77@donga.com