Furious Gennaro Gattuso will get into the face of TV pundit, who he ‘has no respect for’ in reside pitchside interview

Gennaro Gattuso appeared in a heated clash with a Croatian pundit during a live TV interview following his side’s defeat on Sunday.

Hajduk Split lost first place in the HNL to Rijeka as they suffered a 3-0 humiliation in front of away stands – in an opportunity for a league title for the last 20 years.

With just 10 matches left to overturn the situation, the Italian manager appeared clearly frustrated at the Croatian TV channel MaxSport post-match interview and clashed with famous presenter Jelicic.

Gattuso snubbed a handshake with the pundit before they started arguing in English, Spanish and Italian.

‘I don’t shake hands with you as you speak too much,’ said Gattuso as he arrived at the scene. ‘You speak too much and you don’t have respect for the people. You played football so you know very well the situation.

‘You always speak very bad. I don’t have respect for you. You speak very bad.’ 

Gennaro Gattuso clashed with a TV pundit after his side Hajduk Split’s 3-0 defeat on Sunday

The pair argued in English, Spanish and Italian during the heated on-air confrontation

The pundit was quick to respond with: ‘You played very badly’, which further added fuel to their debate on live TV.

Gattuso added: ‘You have to have respect for people. I am speaking.’

The former Hajduk player then replied: ‘Put your hand down. You have to respect me,’ prompting the Italian to shout: ‘Speak here. Speak of football here.’

The pundit claimed: ‘We are going to speak. I am here.’ 

‘You are speaking to someone who has won everything in the world,’ Gattuso said, while other two presenters attempted to calm the duo. ‘I don’t want to speak with him. This is the last time, if you are here, I won’t speak to the TV because you are a bad person.’

Their clash ended with the pundit saying: ‘You are a foreigner, you need to respect everyone here,’ while Gattuso replied: ‘I won’t speak with you, ok? Let’s go.’ 

Gattuso arrived at the Croatian club in June 2024 and has won 15 games out of 32 since taking over.

The former defensive midfielder has a large portfolio of clubs, including Napoli, AC Milan, Valencia and Marseille.

Gattuso’s men dropped to second in the Croatian league after their loss to title rivals Rijeka

Gattuso arrived at the Croatian side in the summer of 2024 following his exit from Marseille

Gattuso’s Coppa Italia triumph in 2020 remains the only silverware of his managerial career

However, his period in Napoli remains the only successful stage of his managerial career, following several controversial departures throughout the past years.

The 47-year-old lifted the Coppa Italia with the Partenopei in 2020, featuring the likes of Lorenzo Insigned, Dries Mertens and Jose Callejon on the pitch.

Although he kept a good relationship with president Aurelio De Laurentiis, the pair decided to part ways following the team’s fifth-place Serie A finish in the following season.

In February 2024, Gattuso was sacked by Marseille as their manager, and replaced by Jean-Louis Gasset, after he claimed just nine wins out of 24 matches.