Lazio left-back Senad Lulic has sparked outrage in Italy with remarks he made about Roma defender Antonio Rudiger following Sunday's derby clash.
Luciano Spalletti's side claimed a 2-0 victory at the Stadio Olimpico thanks to second-half goals from Kevin Strootman and Radja Nainggolan.
Tempers flared in a typically feisty meeting of the capital clubs, with six players ending up with yellow cards and unused substitute Danilo Cataldi earning a straight red for his part in a fracas that took place in the dugout after Strootman's goal.
But Lulic's post-match comments about what he considered to be taunts from Rudiger have prompted a backlash, amid accusations of racism.
He told Mediaset Premium: "Rudiger was provoking us even before the game. Two years ago, he was selling socks and belts in Stuttgart. Now he acts like he's some phenomenon.
"It's not his fault, really, but the fault of those who are around him. They haven't taught him good manners."
When asked to evaluate his remark and possibly apologise, Lulic added: "I said what I think."
Former Italy and Roma defender Christian Panucci admonished Lulic's comments, while speaking as a pundit for the match on television.
"With those words Lulic really fell down, when I was a player this kind of problems were resolved on the pitch," he said.
Lazio were quick to apologise for Lulic's comments, admitting that the Bosnia international had gone "over the edge".
"Lazio want to apologise for what just happened," said Lazio director of communications Arturo Diaconale. "Those words come after a defeat which hurt a lot our players. The whole squad felt an extremely high pressure for this game.
"Lulic's sentence went over the edge but was an answer to what Roma's player said at first. We deeply apologise as a club and we want to get over it.
"We can't ask all our players to be always politically correct, but it's important they understand when they do something wrong. The club have always supported the fair play in football and wish to promote the integrity of the game. This is the Lazio style."
