‘I grabbed him good!’ – Giorgio Chiellini breaks silence on disgraceful Bukayo Saka foul

Giorgio Chiellini has spoken out about the infamous foul on Bukayo Saka at the Euro 2020 football final.

The Italian captain led his side to victory at last summer’s event with a lot of outstanding displays, but his most iconic image from the tournament came in the Wembley final versus England.

The game was level at 1-1 and heading to extra time in the 96th minute when Saka got past Chiellini and appeared to have beaten the last defender, only for Chiellini to grasp Saka’s collar and roughly tug the winger to the ground.

Chiellini was immediately shown a yellow card for the infraction, however some felt the gravity of the situation warranted a red card.

Nearly a year after the final, the former Juventus player has finally spoken out about what transpired.

He said: “This became a symbol of Euro 2020 as a whole. The most heavily used meme of summer 2021.

“It was probably one of the only mistakes I made during the Euros. I’d read the flight of the ball, thinking I could shepherd it out of play when really, I could have controlled it.

“But I was convinced I could put my body between Saka and the ball, and let it go out of play.

“But he wriggled round me! When he wriggled round from behind and had that space to run into, my reaction was to grab him. And I grabbed him good!”

Of course, Italy won the game and the Euros following a penalty shootout in which Saka missed the game-winning spot-kick.

Chiellini has already retired from international duty, although his great Italy career did not finish well, with his team failing to qualify for the 2022 World Cup and his 117th and last cap coming in a 3-0 defeat to Argentina.

The 37-year-old is now looking for a new team, with a move to the MLS a strong possibility.

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‘I grabbed him good!’ – Giorgio Chiellini breaks silence on disgraceful Bukayo Saka foul