Chiellini: “I didn’t hurt Van Persie”

Italian international Giorgio Chiellini denies he hurt Robin van Persie. A challenge by Chiellini led to torn ankle ligaments that will keep the Arsenal man sidelined for several months.

“Some people tried to stir up trouble to distract attention from the performance,” Chiellini said after the friendly match against Sweden (1-0 win) on Wednesday night. “I have never gone into a tackle to hurt anyone in my entire life and Van Persie said the same thing.

“If you look at the footage it’s clear it was not a nasty challenge. I was the first to be upset about Van Persie and hope he’ll recover as soon as possible. I was actually surprised he was injured from that situation,” the Juventus defender said.

Chiellini scored the winner against Sweden. It was his second goal in 27 internationals for Italy.