Nedved: ‘I spoke with Demiral’

Juventus Vice-President Pavel Nedved has confirmed that he spoke with defender Merih Demiral following his gesture with the national team.

The centre-back was on duty with the Turkish national side when he performed a military salute, perceived to be in support of his governments actions in Syria.

Turkish players roundly condemned in the Italian press and speaking at Juve’s annual shareholders meeting, Nedved confirmed he was the one who spoke with Demiral.

“I talked to Demiral. Everyone has their freedom of expression, from the clubs point of view, we wanted to understand the thought of the boy during the match with his national team.

“The decision was taken within the Turkish national team, we await the evaluation of the competent bodies and we will have to stick to their decision.

“His gesture, even if it was strong, from our point of view, does not integrate any violation of the code of ethics.”