Gattuso to avoid Spurs 'slap'

Gattuso: Staying at home

Gennaro Gattuso has confirmed he will not travel to White Hart Lane for AC Milan's second leg against Tottenham Hotspur to avoid being 'slapped'.

"I have been told there will be 37,000 people there just waiting to give me a slap, so I will stay in Milan."
Gennaro Gattuso Quotes of the week

The veteran midfielder will sit out the UEFA Champions League clash next month through suspension after picking up a yellow card in Spurs' 1-0 win at the San Siro last week.

However, it is Gattuso's actions at the end of the game that have persuaded the Italian to remain in Milan rather than cheer on his team-mates in North London.

Gattuso was given a further four-match ban by Uefa earlier this week after headbutting Tottenham's assistant manager Joe Jordan following the final whistle.

He maintains Jordan was ready for a confrontation and, despite wanting to travel to England, Gattuso has accepted it will better if he stays at home.

Screaming

"I would like to go to White Hart Lane for the second leg but I have been advised not to," Gattuso told Le Iene television programme.

"I have been told there will be 37,000 people there just waiting to give me a slap, so I will stay in Milan.

"It was lucky Zlatan Ibrahimovic was not at my side when the confrontation with Jordan happened. If he had been, the fight would still be going on.

"When I went towards Jordan at the end of the game, he took off his glasses like he was ready for a challenge. He was screaming the 'f' word at me repeatedly.

"Then (Sebastien) Bassong came up and said, 'Hey, you and me'. It went on in the tunnel where Bassong was trying to belittle me about my height. He was laughing at me."