Galliani blasts fans’ Berlusconi protest

AC Milan vice-president Adriano Galliani sprung to the defence of the club’s top man, Italy Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, after fans protested against him during the 3-0 victory over Juventus.

Milan have endured a disappointing season, finishing third in Serie A, making little progress in the cup competitions and losing in the second round of the Champions League 7-2 on aggregate against Manchester United.

Milan decided to part company with coach Leonardo, who has fallen out with Berlusconi — the club’s president and owner — several times this season, but fans showed exactly where their loyalties lay on Saturday night.

They held up a banner praising the players and Leonardo while attacking the president, who was absent.

“There’s no battle between our president and Leonardo. Our president was not at the game because he was ill,” fumed Galliani.

“There was no unjustifiable absence. Our fans were ungracious and forgot that thanks to Berlusconi’s ideas and resources we’ve been in eight Champions League finals (since Berlusconi took over in 1986).

“No other team has done as well as us in recent times. This is a protest that we cannot accept.”

While Berlusconi has invested heavily in Milan, last summer he disappointed fans by selling star player Kaka for 67 million euros to Real Madrid and spending only 20 million euros on striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar as a replacement.