Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini will step down from the club at the end of the season after his infamous remarks lampooning striker Ademola Lookman for missing a penalty.
According to Atalanta co-owner Stephen Pagliuca, the club will look for alternatives if Gasperini decides to leave at the end of the season. He had come under fire for making Lookman a scapegoat in their 5-2 aggregate loss to Club Brugge in the Champions League round of 16 qualifier.
“This is something Luca Percassi will handle,” Pagliuca told Gazzetta.
“He takes care of these matters. We will do whatever Gasp believes is the best solution for him.”
Speaking on the spat between the coach and Lookman he added: “We want to put this situation behind us, and I think we have, considering the 5-0 victory [against Empoli].
“These matches are always intense. We love the passion with which they are played. We have a great coach, very passionate. He made a mistake by speaking about an individual. At Atalanta, with the Percassi family, we have a policy: if things go wrong, we take responsibility. We look at ourselves and how to improve.
“The players are having an extraordinary season. We wouldn’t be where we are now without the contributions of Lookman, De Ketelaere, and the whole team. I should name them all. We faced Brugge without five key players, all injured. Gasperini’s reaction was emotional and unfortunate, and it was a mistake that went against our policy, something we are not proud of. But I repeat, Gasp remains a great coach.”
