Napoli Chief Aurelio De Laurentiis in Hot Waters After Shoving Cameraman Ahead of UCL Clash Against Barcelona

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Napoli forward Matteo Politano was giving an interview to Italian television station Sky Sport, at the side of the field, on the eve of Napoli’s Champions League match as De Laurentiis rushed onto the field and asked him player to stop the interaction before going on to hurl abuses and push the cameraman.

Napoli and its president Aurelio De Laurentiis could face a heavy fine from UEFA after he pushed a cameraman in an ongoing spat with Italian media.

The incident occurred when Napoli forward Matteo Politano was giving an interview to Italian television station Sky Sport, at the side of the field, on the eve of Napoli’s Champions League match at Barcelona on Tuesday.

The interview was being broadcast live when De Laurentiis rushed onto the field, yelling: “Politano! Politano! With you (Sky), he’s not allowed to talk.”

Politano was forced to leave, smiling bemusedly. De Laurentiis then turned back to the camera and hurled insults, before pushing the cameraman — who had to take a few steps backwards to avoid losing his balance.

Italian media reports that De Laurentiis had said he would only allow his players to be interviewed by Neapolitans or journalists who supported Napoli.

Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis aggressively deals with a camera operator from Sky Italia pic.twitter.com/3dUT4oJIlw— Italian Football TV (@IFTVofficial) March 11, 2024

“Sky Sport decides who does Sky Sport interviews,” said channel director Federico Ferri in a post on X, formerly Twitter. “I’m speechless at what happened to our journalist and our cameraman: I condemn it without other comments.

Chi fa le interviste di Sky Sport lo decide Sky Sport.Senza parole per quello che è successo al nostro giornalista, e al nostro cameraman: lo condanno senza altri commenti.Una cosa è certa: andiamo avanti come sempre, con professionalità, rigore, credibilità. Ed educazione.— Federico Ferri (@FedericoFerri) March 11, 2024

“One thing is certain: we’ll go ahead as always, with professionalism, accuracy, credibility. And courtesy.”

De Laurentiis last month put a halt on pre-match news conferences — apart from when obliged to in the Champions League — and also recently banned the team from talking to DAZN, which broadcasts every Serie A match in Italy.

He has often instigated a total media blackout by the club.

Napoli play at Barcelona on Tuesday in the return leg of the Champions League round of 16. They drew 1-1 in the first leg, which was Francesco Calzona’s first match in charge after becoming Napoli’s third coach of the season.