AIC: "He is suffering serious damage, trampling on his dignity"

"The situation that Leonardo Bonucci is experiencing is paradoxical: he is objectively out of the face, he suffers illegitimate conduct and is prohibited by the Collective Agreement, his dignity is trampled on. Juve must reinstate him immediately, he is suffering serious professional damage." With a long interview with ANSA by its President Umberto Calcagno, the players' union takes the field alongside "the national team captain, to whom this story is precluding important opportunities, including the blue jersey. Among other things, Bonucci is the tip of the iceberg of numerous situations that are in many teams. Then there are those who, like him, have broad shoulders and go on with their chests on the outside, and those who suffer."

"It is not possible to argue" - continues Calcagno - "that having some players constantly train separately and at times other than the team group does not constitute a clear violation of the Collective Agreement. The differences that may exist within the workouts must be temporarily dictated by technical-sports needs. The famous Abete lodo determines precisely this: for example, it is normal that before or after a game certain groups are trained within a team or that, during the weekly work, there is a different organization of training for roles. What certainly cannot happen is that systematically one or more players train with a different staff than that of the first team or even at different times, without ever having technical indications from the coach of the first team".

"What is happening today to so many footballers who suffer these particular situations is just a lack of respect for their professionalism. A footballer cannot claim to play because the technical choice is unquestionable, but he has the right to be prepared on equal terms with other teammates, because he must be able to have the same opportunities. And then in my opinion these technical choices, most of the time by the coaches who marginalize, also create damage to companies. A footballer should be ready to change teams if he is not part of the sporting project: therefore he must train like everyone else. But if he does it alone, or with a small number of teammates, without being able to do a full session, tell me if he will be ready to enter the field if transferred to another club ... So it ends that in the case of Bonucci Juve will have more difficulty in giving him up in this market window. And he will also find himself, in all likelihood, with a millionaire compensation lawsuit."

"Bonucci turned to his trusted lawyer, but we as the AIC will give him all the support he needs. I have not spoken with Juve, there is no dialogue, but I hope there is common sense, which means trying to go beyond personal relationships if they have cracked; here we are talking about professionalism at the highest level".But can certain past attitudes of Bonucci have determined the current situation? Everyone knows that there were frictions with coach Allegri. "If, and I emphasize if, there had been behaviors that had to result in disciplinary sanctions, the ban on training with other teammates cannot be punishment; if there was something to reproach Bonucci, it had to be done in another way. There should be no personal relationships that are not professionally reputable and, in any case, cannot affect the smooth performance of work. The current situation could also make Leo lose the chance of being summoned by the new blue coach. We are talking about the captain of the national team who could also miss this chance."

Can this detect in the cause of work? "Of course it detects. In addition, the teams currently interested in Bonucci want a trained and immediately available player and the same reasoning could be done by the new blue CT. Mancini in the past summoned athletes who did not play in the club, but regularly trained with others, not alone or almost alone. Training is the fulcrum of the rights and dignity of every footballer, to be ready like everyone else, otherwise it will create damage to the athlete, but also to society. It is absurd” -concludes Calcagno - “that we get to this point in a high-level professional context, where everyone has to lose from a situation of this kind".