Gennaro Gattuso's agent has accused Joe Jordan of instigating the spat between his client and the Spurs coach.
Representatives of Milan midfielder accuse Jordan of sparking spat
Gennaro Gattuso's agent has accused Joe Jordan of instigating the spat between his client and the Tottenham coach.
AC Milan skipper Gattuso was involved in two altercations with Jordan during Spurs' 1-0 UEFA Champions League victory at the San Siro on Tuesday.
The first incident saw the fiery midfielder shove the Tottenham assistant manager in the throat, before going on to head-butt him at the final whistle.
Gattuso's actions have been widely condemned, with mounting calls for Uefa to take disciplinary action against him.
One of his agents, Clauido Pasqualin, has leapt to the defence of the 33-year-old, though, claiming that Jordan was the one to spark the angry confrontation.
He told
Radio Kiss Kiss: "What seems clear to me is that my client was seriously provoked by Joe Jordan.
"Jordan, after having continuously beaked at him, insulted him with the lowest of phrases, '******* Italian *******'.
"And for someone like Rino, who has a strong sense of belonging to Italy, I think this was the most cowardly of insults."
Tension
Another of Gattuso's representatives, Andrea D'Amico, has also suggested that provocation from Jordan was responsible for the unsightly scenes and believes that the incident has been blown out of proportion.
"He was provoked, but it is also true he showed weakness by falling into that trap," he said.
"It's one thing to be sitting on the bench and winding people up, another to be running for an hour-and-a-half. Reactions can be dictated by tension.
"Rino apologised, above all to his own fans for the impact this has on the image of Milan and his role as captain.
"From my point of view, it is important to reaffirm some people exaggerated their criticism. Gattuso's career speaks for itself with regards to fair play, quite aside from the competitive vigour he has always put into the sport.
"He is a very sincere and fair man, so certain comments seem over the top to me. Rino knows when you are captain of Milan there are certain duties for the club and fans, so this is why he apologised. In fact, he was a gentleman in not revealing what Joe Jordan said because when you take an attitude like that, there's not much to say.
"Rino didn't kill anyone. Certain comments show more about people than mistakes made. We apologise and await any disciplinary action."
