Roma striker Pablo Osvaldo has been thrown out of the Italy squad due to his behaviour during Sunday's Italian Cup final, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) said Monday.
Osvaldo started the 1-0 defeat to bitter city rivals Lazio on the bench and after the match argued with his coach Aurelio Andreazzoli and refused to accept a loser's medal.
"Pablo Daniel Osvaldo will not take part in the Confederations Cup ... due to the Roma player's behaviour yesterday (Sunday), after having lost the Italian Cup, he abandoned the presentation ceremony without his club's authorisation," said the FIGC statement.
Italy coach Cesare Prandelli is known to rule with a strict code of conduct and has previously ditched players who were serving club bans for violent conduct.
After Osvaldo's antics Andreazzoli blasted the Argentine-born Italy international.
"He always plays up in front of the camera, after which he goes and snivels in a corner," he said.
Osvaldo fired back in a Twitter broadside clearly aimed at his inexperienced coach, who was a member of the backroom staff until Zdenek Zeman was fired in February.
Andreazzoli had never coached in the Italian top flight until then, although he had been the head coach of various lower league sides before first arriving in Serie A as an assistant at Udinese in 2003.
"You'd appear more credible if you admitted you're incapable, why don't you go and celebrate with Lazio," Osvaldo tweeted.
Ahead of the Confederations Cup, Italy will play a friendly against San Marino on May 31 and then a World Cup qualifier against Czech Republic on June 7 in Prague.
Then they will play a friendly against Haiti in Brazil before the competition begins on June 15.
The current squad of 30 players must be trimmed down to just 23 for the Confederations Cup.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Michael Agazzi (Cagliari), Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris Saint-Germain/FRA)
Defenders: Ignazio Abate (AC Milan), Luca Antonelli (Genoa), Davide Astori (Cagliari), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Mattia De Sciglio (AC Milan), Cristian Maggio (Napoli), Angelo Ogbonna (Torino), Andrea Ranocchia (Inter Milan)
Midfielders: Alberto Aquilani (Fiorentina), Giacomo Bonaventura (Atalanta), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Alessandro Cerci (Torino), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Diamanti (Bologna), Emanuele Giaccherini (Juventus), Claudio Marchisio (Juventus), Riccardo Montolivo (AC Milan), Andrea Pirlo (Juventus), Andrea Poli (Sampdoria)
Forwards: Mario Balotelli (AC Milan), Stephan El Shaarawy (AC Milan), Alberto Gilardino (Bologna), Sebastian Giovinco (Juventus), Marco Sau (Cagliari)
Source: AFP
