David’s missed penalty sparks back-and-forth between Spalletti and journalist

Jonathan David’s missed penalty against Lecce continues to cause debate in Italy as a journalist has replied to ‘vague allusions’ from Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti.

Juventus coach Spalletti and a popular Italian journalist, Sandro Sabatini, engaged in a heated debate following the latest Serie A matches.

Spalletti praised David after the Canadian had scored a goal and provided an assist in a 3-0 win over Sassuolo. The ex-Lille forward, however, had been blamed by part of the fans and the media just a few days earlier, having awkwardly missed a penalty kick in a 1-1 home draw against Lecce.

David was not supposed to take the penalty, but Manuel Locatelli and Kenan Yildiz agreed to let him try from the spot, but the decision proved to be wrong.

Spalletti once again spoke about the controversial penalty after the victory over Sassuolo, but this time he indirectly mentioned members of the media who had criticised David.

What Spalletti said about David’s missed penalty

TURIN, ITALY – JANUARY 03: Jonathan David of Juventus misses a penalty attempt during the Serie A match between Juventus FC and US Lecce at on January 03, 2026 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images)

“Some care about friends they have elsewhere and try to create confusion with these little videos on their phones, making all kinds of insults,” Spalletti said.

“Why? Because they care about another team and the friend who is coaching elsewhere. They act like the experts who have to decide who takes the penalty.

“You know that the two who are supposed to take penalties are Locatelli and Yildiz. Then this thing happened, I’m glad the captain [Locatelli] showed personality to change the choice, but the next time, he also needs to tell me.

“However, to then say that there’s chaos and we don’t know who takes penalties…we didn’t have a ball boy to take it. We had someone who, out of 25-26 penalties, has scored more than 20 in his career. All this pandemonium was deliberately created to sow confusion here. They won’t find easy ground.”

Journalist hits back at Spalletti

BOLOGNA, ITALY – DECEMBER 14: Luciano Spalletti, Head Coach of Juventus, looks on prior to the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Juventus FC at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on December 14, 2025 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Sport Mediaset journalist Sabatini, who runs popular football shows on YouTube and is a pundit for Sport Mediaset, felt involved: “I don’t know if Spalletti was referring to me, because I’ve made many little videos,” he hit back (via TMW).

“I reply, even if he didn’t name me, because I don’t like vague allusions. I’ve watched many little videos about that penalty, some even said David had been shameful, but he [Spalletti] got upset by my video.”

While some Italian pundits and media outlets are frequently critical of Massimiliano Allegri, Sabatini usually steps in to defend the Tuscan coach.

“Allusions are detached from reality and, to me, from elegance as well. I don’t support any team or any coach,” the journalist continued.

“I only support the national team, and I hope we will qualify for the World Cup. However, if, unfortunately, we won’t qualify, I’d suggest hiring Allegri as we’d have great Euros with him, I’m sure of it.”