Giorgio Chiellini breaks silence on infamous Bukayo Saka shirt pull

Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini has finally broken his silence after dragging Bukayo Saka to the floor in the Euro 2020 final.

With the match level at 1-1, Arsenal winger Saka looked to have broken free from his marker down the right and was set to drive down the channel. However, Chiellini had other ideas.

The Juventus defender, who has departed the club this summer, grabbed Saka’s shirt and seemingly pulled him down by his neck. Of course, Italy then went on to win the match on penalties – with Saka amongst the three England players that failed to convert from the spot.

Chiellini’s foul was one of the most memorable moments of the final, with Saka certain to great a significant opening if he was brought down. And the 37-year-old has finally commented on the incident.

He said: “This became the symbol of Euro 2020 as a whole. The most heavily used meme of summer 2021. It was probably one of the only mistakes I made during the Euros.

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"It was in the 90th minute and I'd read the flight of the ball, thinking I could shepherd it out of play when really I could have controlled it. But I was convinced I could put my body between Saka and the ball and let it go out of play, but he wriggled round me."

The nine-time Serie A winner, who has been linked with a move to America this summer, then laughed: “When he wriggled round from behind and had that space to run into my reaction was to grab him. And I grabbed him good!"

The grin on the face of Chiellini as he recalled his cynical foul will certainly infuriate plenty of England fans, in what was the most significant ‘what could have been’ moment in the Three Lions’ recent history.