Mihajlovic apologises - but not to Mutu
Lazio's Sinisa Mihajlovic has publicly apologised for the first time for the ugly scenes during the heavy UEFA Champions League defeat to Chelsea.
The Serbia & Montenegro star was banned for eight games by Uefa for spitting in the face of Chelsea's Adrian Mutu, although his red card in the 4-0 defeat was for two separate incidents.
Lazio must take on Besiktas without him in midweek, and Mihajlovic is finally showing some remorse for his lamentable actions.
"Lazio are close to taking to the pitch to face a delicate match and I can't play due to the well-known European ban," he stated.
"I want to take this opportunity to apologise to my team-mates, to the coach and to the club for the red card I received against Chelsea, that evidently had some weight towards the final result of the match.
"I want to tell children that they shouldn't consider as a reference that night's behaviour."
However, Mihajlovic has also criticised Romanian international Mutu for his part in the unsavoury episode.
"I want to underline that if I had the reaction it is because I've surely been provoked," added the veteran defender. "Also, in an unworthy way.
"For this reason, I do not make excuses towards Mutu.
"My character is this, but I'm sorry the TV images have condemned only me this time, when there were images to see and to understand why I reacted."
