February 5 – Fans of high-flying Italian club Atalanta have expressed their frustration and anger after it was revealed the club had terminated Iraq defender Ali Adnan’s contract following the Asian Cup.
Adnan, who scored the winning goal against Vietnam in the 2007 champions’ opening group game in the UAE, reportedly left to join his national team earlier than anticipated with a possible fine mooted.
Instead on-loan Adnan, who had participated in training sessions with Atalanta ahead of their recent Italian Cup upset win over Juventus, was suddenly dropped without his prior knowledge.
With the January transfer window now closed and his parent club, Udinese, having already submitted their official squad list to the Italian Football Federation, he is now in limbo with no club to play for.
“Disgusting from (coach Gian Piero) Gasperini,” said one post on social media. “He purposely screwed him, wasting almost a full season for Ali Adnan.”
Many fans said it would never have happened if the player was European or South American:
“National team should be respected no matter what. Ali Adnan and his agent must file a lawsuit,” said another posting.
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