Report: Inter to fine Marcelo Brozovic for clap

Inter Milan management is planning to fine midfielder Marcelo Brozovic for his weak attempt at sarcasm to fans during the Nerazzurri’s 2-1 win against Bologna.

In the second half, Brozovic was substituted off for new signee Rafinha in the 58^th minute. In the process the fans at the Giuseppe Meazza whistled him to suggest disappointment in his performance.

His response: a sarcastic applause gesture back to the fans.

Inter manager Luciano Spalletti suggested he would not punish Brozovic for his actions.

“Sometimes when you (the fans) want to punish someone, know that it does not work that way,” said Spalletti to Calciomercato.com. “The manager and the team must make recognizable rules, and those who do not respect them must be punished. However, I will not punish him because he punished himself.”

But, in Tuesday’s Gazzetta dello Sport, as reported by Football Italia, it was reported the team will fine the Croatian for his action and require a public apology for it.

The hero of Inter’s win, Yann Karamoh, even commented on the whistles aimed at Brozovic.

“The whistles to Brozovic - complicated situation for him,” said Karamoh, to Gazzetta. “But the problem affects all of us players, we are back from a horrible period, we must not look for excuses: it is not the fault of the fans if we hurt but we have to give more...”

Let’s be honest, Brozovic has been absentee on the pitch of late. Since his brace against Benevento on Oct. 1, he has been pretty non-existent. Since then, he’s managed about 16 shots on goal according to WhoScored.com. He did have eight shots and an assist in the 5-0 thrashing of Chievo on Dec. 3, but just about everyone had shots on goal in that game.

He did assist Eder’s goals against Crotone and Bologna, but overall his possession has been weak and his ability to defend in the middle is pretty suspect – but then again up until recently all of our defending in the middle has been suspect.

There are some Interisti that suggest the fan criticism of Brozo is unfair.

Then again there are those who don’t.

I guess the point here is that maybe the whistles were warranted. You have a fan base frustrated with performances of guys getting paid millions of euros to produce. At times Brozo has seemed lackadaisical, uninterested and careless. You’re going to get jeered for that. You are a professional athlete … act like it.

It’s not like opening a coffee shop or anything.

I can’t say I would have an issue with Suning Group and Inter management fining Brozovic for this. After all, if you responded that way, perhaps there is some truth to the jeers.

What do you think? Leave your comments below!