Inter Duo Won’t Face Discipline for Recent Altercation

Nicolò Barella and Romelu Lukaku won’t be fined for their argument on the pitch in the Sampdoria game. The management and the coaching staff talked with the two players and moved past the incident. While they didn’t like what occurred, the two stars will get away with a warning, La Gazzetta dello Sport informs.

The skirmish didn’t have lasting effects, as the midfielder and the striker remain tight off the pitch. The Nerazzurri ultimately believed that a sanction would have added unnecessary tension and sent a divisive signal in a key stretch of the season. They will face Porto in the first leg of the Champions League’s Round of 16 next week.

Simone Inzaghi urged Barella to stop waving his arms so much when his teammates make mistakes and told Lukaku that these matters should be handled in the locker room and not publicly. The Azzurri staple will be punished if he does it again. It’s something that has been going on for a while and irked other squad members as well.

The Belgian marksman will likely draw the nod in Saturday’s match versus Udinese, but he’ll have to show significantly better to be in the XI against Porto. Edin Dzeko has proven to be a more reliable option, while the teammate hasn’t found the target since late October and has done it just twice in the season. Inter are in wait-and-see mode as far as his future is concerned. Surely, they won’t pay €20M to bring him back from Chelsea for another campaign, but they might get a discount.