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Italian journalist Alessandro Alciato has shed more light on Noa Lang's disciplinary suspension. The Dutchman was left out of Napoli's matchday squad on Wednesday evening for the clash with Arsenal (0-1).
"He behaved inappropriately during training yesterday (Tuesday, ed.)," sporting director Giovanni Manna said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport before the match. "Noa has already apologised and the matter is closed. He will watch the match against Arsenal from the stands and after that he will be available again."
While Manna refused to go into exactly what happened in training, Italian journalist Alciato has more details. Speaking on Amazon Prime on Wednesday evening, he explained why Lang was suspended.
"It all started because of a misplaced pass from Antonio Vergara during yesterday's training. Lang did not handle that particularly well. He said things that the coach did not like, mainly because of the way he said them. It even escalated to the point that Allegri sent him away from training."
"On Wednesday morning, Lang apologised to the coach, the club and his team-mates. But a clear signal had to be sent and that is why he was left out of the squad for this match. From the next match onwards, he can be selected again as normal."
Lang had a very poor relationship with Antonio Conte, Allegri's predecessor. The winger said the now departed coach did not treat him well last season. The former PSV player opted for a loan spell at Galatasaray during the winter break. He returned to Napoli in the summer, where he does not have a starting place.
Napoli have endured a rough start to the new Serie A season. They beat Genoa (0-2), then lost to Como (1-2) and Inter (3-2). Allegri's side also came up short against Arsenal on Wednesday evening on the opening matchday of the Champions League league phase. Martin Ødegaard scored the only goal of the match with 15 minutes to play.