Jonathan Zebina has apologised for gesturing to Juventus fans but claims he was driven to act inappropriately.
Old Lady defender exasperated by supporters
Jonathan Zebina has apologised for gesturing to Juventus supporters but claims he was driven to act inappropriately by their behaviour at Craven Cottage.
The Italian giants have endured a miserable campaign to date and it went from bad to worse on Thursday as they crashed out of the Europa League after throwing away a 4-1 lead over Fulham.
Leading 3-1 from the first leg, Juve were expected to ease comfortably through to the quarter-finals but they were defeated 4-1 in an astonishing night at Craven Cottage which saw Fabio Cannavaro sent off in the 27th minute.
Zebina was also dismissed in stoppage time and as the French right-back walked off the pitch he put his middle finger up at the travelling fans.
The 31-year-old apologised for that gesture but has urged the fans to back their team.
"I was insulted by about 30 hooligans and racists," he said. "Some came right to England, travelling thousands of kilometres to insult us.
"They started to insult both me and Felipe Melo right from the warm-up and I'm fed up with this situation.
"These people have to stop it, at the end we received more applause from the Fulham fans than from our own.
"I showed the finger, I apologise because it was not a good example for kids. But I was exasperated."
Relations between the club and its fans are at an all-time low following a dismal season.
In the wake of Zebina's gesture the club has issued a statement that reads: "The frustration for a disappointing result doesn't justify certain types of behaviour that leads to useless tensions and damages the image of the club."
