Rafael Leao hits back at Paolo Di Canio with simple but brutal social media post

AC Milan star Rafael Leao has emphatically hit back at Paolo Di Canio after the pundit criticised his recent performances, simply posting a throwback photo of the time Di Canio celebrated with a fascist salute during his time as a Lazio player.

Leao has been a star player for Milan in recent years, but Di Canio singled him out for strong criticism after the 2-2 draw between the Rossoneri and Lazio over the weekend.

The Portugal international actually scored in that game, but he perhaps wasn’t at his very best overall, though it seems he was in no mood to take criticism from a controversial figure like Di Canio…

While Di Canio was a great player for much of his career, shining at Lazio but also in spells in England with Sheffield Wednesday, West Ham and Charlton Athletic, but he is now often remembered for this moment in the picture above.

The former Italian forward has given mixed responses and explanations since this happened, having initially defended his fascist views by saying: “I will always salute as I did because it gives me a sense of belonging to my people … I saluted my people with what for me is a sign of belonging to a group that holds true values, values of civility against the standardisation that this society imposes upon us.”

Di Canio later said he regretted it, however, and has insisted he is not a racist, while he was suspended for one game and fined €7,000 for the incident.

Leao is clearly not a fan of his, though, and it’s clear this is an image that is always going to haunt Di Canio, who should surely have known better than to behave in such an inflammatory and offensive way.

It will be interesting to see if this row between the pair goes any further in the days and weeks ahead.