Arturo Vidal insists he DID NOT kiss the Juventus badge before Inter Milan’s Serie A victory

Inter Milan midfielder Arturo Vidal has denied kissing the Juventus badge before Sunday night’s Derby d’Italia, insisting it was just ‘a demonstration of affection’ for Giorgio Chiellini.

The Chilean midfielder was criticised after footage from before Inter’s win over Juventus showed Vidal appearing to kiss the badge of his former club on Chiellini’s warm up top.

Vidal and Chiellini were team-mates at Juventus between 2011 and 2015, helping the club win four Serie A titles before Vidal left for Bayern Munich. 

Arturo Vidal (R) denied kissing the Juventus badge on Sunday night, insisting it was ‘a demonstration of affection’ for Giorgio Chiellini (L)

Vidal and Chiellini were team-mates at Juventus between 2011-2015 and enjoyed catching up

The duo shared a pre-match hug at the San Siro before Vidal planted a kiss on the chest of the Italian defender.

However, Vidal insists it had nothing to do with a tribute to his former club and was simply out of affection for the 36-year-old defender.

‘My intention has never been to kiss another team’s crest,’ he wrote on Instagram. 

‘The kiss was a demonstration of affection for a brother (Chiellini) who gave me football, with whom I have lived wonderful years together and we love each other.

‘I respect my team, our fans and the people who trusted me to defend and continue to grow the history of this beautiful club.’ 

Fans were not happy with Vidal though, with one declaring the incident ‘thoughtless’ as they criticised him on social media.

The fan wrote: ‘After this thoughtless incident where he accidentally (?) kisses Juve’s badge, Arturo Vidal better not cost @Inter the game or else this fanbase will chase him off the Italian mainland.’

Another tweeted: ‘Vidal played an absolute stormer of a first half and not complaining at all because we’re ahead but you still don’t kiss your rivals badge pre kick off before playing them, people probably expected them to play the opposite.’

But one saw the irony behind the move, posting: ‘Everyone freaking out that Vidal kissed the Juve badge before the game, I guess he was just kissing it goodbye before he scored the winner for inter’.

Vidal went on to enjoy a superb night as he scored his first league goal for Inter when he headed in an inviting Nicolo Barella cross after 12 minutes.

Antonio Conte’s side grabbed a deserved second after the break when Barella raced onto a long Alessandro Bastoni pass and finished clinically into the top corner, after which the victory was never in doubt as Juve failed to threaten a comeback. 

Vidal scored his first league goal for Inter when he headed in an inviting Nicolo Barella cross

The result leaves Inter level on 40 points with league leaders AC Milan, who play on Monday

The victory sent Inter joint-top of Serie A while putting a major dent in the Turin club’s hopes of retaining their title.  

It was also Conte’s first Serie A win on his fourth attempt against the club he represented as a player and coach, and the result leaves Inter level on 40 points with league leaders AC Milan, who visit Cagliari on Monday.

Juventus have a game in hand over Inter but are fifth with 33 points, leaving Andrea Pirlo’s side with a lot of ground to make up in their quest for a 10th consecutive Serie A title.

‘Juve have won the Scudetto for many years, but we’ve shown we’re at the level to fight for the title,’ Vidal added.

‘This success gives us the confidence to continue working hard and thinking about winning the league. We think we can go all the way.’