Bastoni award reignites Inter vs. Juventus controversy over Kalulu simulation

Inter fans showed their support for Alessandro Bastoni, but a suggested award for ‘confessing’ his simulation against Juventus to get Pierre Kalulu sent off has reignited the controversy.

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The defender has been in the eye of the media storm since Inter beat 10-man Juventus, thanks largely to the second yellow card that had Kalulu sent off.

Bastoni simulated much worse contact than there was in reality, and VAR could not intervene to correct the clear and obvious error because protocol bars their involvement in yellow cards.

Ever since then, the Italy international has been loudly jeered by opposition fans in every stadium, with some even calling for him to be dropped from the Nazionale as punishment.

Bastoni could get award for ‘fair play’

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 14: Alessandro Bastoni of FC Internazionale Milano shoots and hits the post during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

It therefore raised eyebrows when Federico Romani, a regional councillor of Lombardy, suggested Bastoni should be awarded the Rosa Camuna, the maximum honour from the region.

“He was able to recognise his mistake publicly and take responsibility,” explained the political figure.

BODO, NORWAY – FEBRUARY 18: Alessandro Bastoni of FC Internazionale Milano reacts after Kasper Hogh of Bodo/Glimt (not pictured) scores his team’s third goal during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off First Leg match between FK Bodo/Glimt and FC Internazionale Milano at Aspmyra Stadion on February 18, 2026 in Bodo, Norway. (Photo by Martin Ole Wold/Getty Images)

“Bastoni’s attitude is not to be taken for granted or considered common, it shows respect for the sport, for opponents, and for the fans.”

This obviously prompted a furious and incredulous reaction from other political figures in the Lombardy region, above all Franco Lucente, who is a Juventus fan.

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 14: Pierre Kalulu of Juventus reacts as he walks off after being sent off by Referee Federico La Penna (not pictured) for a second yellow card offence during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Juventus FC at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on February 14, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“I am the first to condemn the jeers from the crowd and media targeting of Bastoni, but to give him an award seems a bit much.

“I doubt that eventually making a late apology represents a great sporting virtue. What then are we to give to Kalulu, who was sent off for a foul he didn’t commit, had to sit out a ban, and now sees Bastoni hailed as an example of fair play?”

The Inter supporters certainly made their voices heard during today’s Serie A match against Atalanta, even though Bastoni was on the bench due to a bruise.

‘Bastoni, our pride’ was a banner in his honour, along with chants that prompted him to stand and wave to the crowd.

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A newly launched conservative nonprofit with an "affordability agenda" vows to fight back against policies like guaranteed income programs that are being implemented in cities and counties across the country. 

"They're going to put us in a fiscal hole," Chuck Flint, who is the executive director of the new group the Coalition for Affordability & Prosperity (CAP), said. 

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Flint, who served as former chief of staff to Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn, launched CAP last week and said the group is "dedicated to advancing policies that lower costs for American families."

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"In order to create those programs, what do you have to do? You have to raise taxes, and what does raising taxes on people do? It's going to push them into a more difficult financial position. It's not going to make things more affordable because they are going to have less money," Flint told Fox News Digital. "And every time the Democrats say, 'Well, we're going to tax the rich.' That never holds true. It's the middle class that ends up paying for it. It's always the middle-class."

CAP aims to serve as a "leading voice for solutions to the affordability crisis" using policy research, national polling, public media campaigns, and lobbying lawmakers.

Flint argues that the recipients of guaranteed income programs are "victims" because cash assistance programs drive inflation.

"These people are actually victims of these policies of government overspending that drive inflation, of regulation that killed the housing supply, of a healthcare system that the government broke," he argued. "They need to rely on all these subsidies now. They deserve real solutions, not political management of a desperate financial situation that those policies have put them in." 

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The organization comes amid growing momentum of guaranteed income programs being enacted in various cities and counties across the country. 

In Illinois, Cook County, the second-largest county in the country, is enacting a permanent basic income program. The program launched in 2022 with the aid of  COVID-19 relief funds using $42 million in federal funding from the American Rescue Plan Act. The Cook County Promise Guaranteed Income Pilot provided monthly payments of $500 to 3,250 households for two years, with no strings attached.

Cook County commissioners previously told Fox News Digital that the decision to extend the program into permanence was based on findings from a survey on the county's pilot program. The program is scheduled to hand out funds to recipients later this year, after the rules and guidelines for the program are finalized. 

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