Football
Ben Gladwell, Italy correspondent 9y

Inter Milan president Erick Thohir: No ultimatum for coach Walter Mazzarri

Inter Milan president Erick Thohir has denied having set coach Walter Mazzarri an ultimatum, saying his comments at the weekend were merely misconstrued.

The businessman was quoted by Indonesian website Vivabola as warning Mazzarri he had only two games to put things right or potentially face the consequences.

That was not the intention of his remarks, however, and Thohir has moved to set the record straight with a statement on the Serie A club's official website in which he reaffirmed his full backing for the under-fire coach, and appreciation of his side's 1-0 win over Cesena at the weekend.

"While I was in Italy, during my last visit, I already explained and repeated over and over again how much I believe in the work our coach and our team are doing, and in our project," said Thohir, 44. "I repeat it again now.

"It's obvious that results are important, but we're not here to give anybody a certain number of games, and clearly some of the words I said yesterday were misinterpreted. Besides, I'm very happy with the [Cesena] result.

"The team played with determination and with their heart and I hope to see some continuation of this kind of performance."

Inter, who moved up to eighth in the league standings at the weekend, host Sampdoria on Wednesday night. They trail the Genovese club by four points and cannot therefore afford to lose at the San Siro, where Thohir will not be present.

Massimo Moratti -- who stepped down as the club's honorary president late last week -- is not expected to be in the stands either, although he says he still feels part of the club, despite bringing an end to over 19 years in an official role for the Nerazzurri.

"We won, so I'm very happy," Moratti told Mediaset television on Monday. "I watched the game like a fan, and somebody who is still part of Inter. Because I am still part of Inter."

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