Giorgio Chiellini has opened up on his infamous foul on Arsenal's Bukayo Saka during last summer's Euro 2020 final between Italy and England.
Roberto Mancini's men won the tournament on penalties after Saka's effort was saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma. Italian centre-back Chiellini also 'grabbed' plenty of headlines for his cynical foul on the Hale End academy graduate, holding the winger's shirt to stop a counter-attack in the latter stages of normal time.
Now, the Juventus icon has spoken about the incident, claiming that it was probably the only mistake he made during the entire tournament. Speaking about the incident, the veteran defender said: "This became the symbol of Euro 2020 as a whole.
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"The most heavily used meme of summer 2021. It was probably one of the only mistakes I made during the Euros. It was in the 90th minute and I'd read the flight of the ball, thinking I could shepherd it out of play, when really I could have controlled it.
"But I was convinced I could put my body between Saka and the ball, and let it go out of play. But he wriggled round me. When he wriggled round from behind and had that space to run into, my reaction was to grab him. And I grabbed him good!"
Chelsea legend John Terry has previously given his opinion on the incident, heaping praise on Chiellini for his decision to foul Saka. Speaking last year, Terry said: "To do what Chiellini did on Saka….it not easy. If you just think about it, it’s clear that you are a legend.
“To me, England were superior to Italy, but the Azzurri had something special. When I saw them sing the national anthem during the group stage, I thought: ‘This is what the fans want, fight together, with passion and sacrifice.’ The experience did the rest.”
