Stephan El Shaarawy explained his tears after scoring a late winner for Roma against Monza: ‘My tears are an outlet for all the recent period I’ve lived through.’ The Giallorossi forward was one of a number of players implicated by paparazzo Fabrizio Corona in the Italian betting scandal that has swept up the country. Despite being implicated by the tabloid journalist, El Shaarawy has not been investigated by the FIGC and has maintained his innocence throughout.
Speaking to Sky Sport after scoring the decisive goal, El Shaarawy talked about the last few weeks of his life which have seen him dragged into the ‘scommesse’ headlines that have appeared all over the world:
“How can you think of disrespecting football when you experience all this? I think it’s one of the most beautiful emotions to score and go under the curva to celebrate with your fans. That’s what I’ve always thought about: playing and having fun. My tears are an outlet for all the time I’ve lived through, I’m happy for the win and the goal”.
“These speculations have hurt me. I even said it on social media because I feel my conscience is clear. It hurts when things are said that are not true. With all the emotions of the goal it was an accumulation of emotions, but I’m happy.”
“A fourth win in a row? This is important. We are giving continuity, something we didn’t have last year. Winning the fourth game in a row gives us a lot of confidence and for the next ones we have to continue on this path”.
Roma coach Jose Mourinho also weighed in on the situation involving his player, and why he has absolute faith in him:
“For a person, being accused of something he didn’t do must be more difficult than being accused of something he did. In my experience, when something negative happens, those who suffer most are the family, the parents, his brother, his girlfriend, and that makes you suffer a lot. He spoke to me as soon as he arrived, he told me that I didn’t have to worry and that’s also why the club, which doesn’t make many announcements, decided to make one in support of the players because they were sure of it.”
