Gennaro Gattuso explained the reason for his public hood with analyst Josko Jelicic.
Gattuso refused to shake the hand of Jelicic or to speak to him in an post-match interview after the 3-0 defeat of Hajduk Split during the Rivaux of the title Rijeka yesterday.
Jelicic, who was playing for Hajduk, was not impressed by their performance and his criticism of Gattuso and his players clearly returned to Italian, who was not in mood for the jokes when he came to face the television cameras.
Things were heated between Joško Jeličić and Gennaro Gattuso after the match. pic.twitter.com/nzed6qe04x
– Croatian football (@croatiafooty) March 16, 2025
Gattuso said, “I think he has no respect for me or the players. He continues to raise things in public. It is easy to speak in the media when nobody is around or behind your back, but what bothers me the most is that he was a professional player and knows the football problems and what it implies.
“It really helps me when someone tells me that I am a stranger. What does it mean? That I have not played football? That I do not belong here? Say it to my face, as you said badly.”
Gattuso – Jelicic has destroyed my players for months
Jelicic won a cap for Croatia but was sent against Austria and has never played again.
And Gattuso questioned his references for criticizing him and his team.
He added: “My players have suffered the most – for months, he has destroyed them with his sarcastic comments, acting as if he had won the World Cup, the Champions League and as if he were the biggest coach in the world.”
