"Excluded from Italy squad because of PlayStation? People speak without knowing"

We are in the run-up to the first leg of the Italian Cup semi-finals and Gianluca Scamacca, one of Atalanta's stars, has had to come out to defend himself against a series of accusations regarding his behaviour in the Italian national team's training camps.

It should be remembered that Luciano Spalletti, in an interview with 'La Gazzetta dello Sport' at the end of February, banned the use of the PlayStation because there were players who stayed up until 4am playing "You come to the national team to win the European Championship, not to win at Call of Duty".

The Italian press started to speculate about some members of the squad to the point of naming Scamacca. In fact, the Atalanta player was not in Spalletti's last squad, last March for two friendlies, and rumours grew as to whether he was excluded for not respecting the rules.

For this reason, the Italian, after being the star of the Bergamo side's 3-0 win in Naples -he scored one goal-, wanted to address the microphones of 'Sky Sport' and was indignant about the rumours: "Excluded for playing PlayStation? People don't know what I do in the room, they talk without knowing".

"I don't feel bad about it, I don't care. Prejudice has been flying over me since I was 16, but I know what I am. I just have to prove myself to the people who love me. I don't give any importance to gossip," he added.

Despite not making the March squad, Scamacca will still be fighting for a place at the European Championship in Germany, which is the big event for European teams in 2024. His participation will depend on his performances with Atalanta, who are in the semi-finals of the Italian Cup, in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and in sixth place in Serie A with a chance of reaching the Champions League.

 

March 31, 2024