Gabriel "Gabigol" Barbosa has apologised for angrily heading to the dressing room during Inter Milan's match with Lazio on Sunday, saying he displayed a "thoughtless" and "inadequate" attitude.
The Brazilian was once again overlooked during Inter's 3-1 win on the day, and he did not take kindly to the snub. Once Ever Banega was sent on as Inter's final substitute, the 20-year-old headed straight for the dressing room.
And in a message posted via social media on Monday, the former Santos striker condemned his actions and offered his "sincere apologies" for the incident.
"To those interested and co-workers, yesterday during the Lazio-Inter match, I suddenly had the thoughtless and inadequate attitude to leave the field before the end of the game," Gabigol wrote. "After the heat of the game passed, calmly and with the support of my family I saw this went against sportsmanship and my own professional values.
"I recognise my error and would like to state my sincere apologies to all of the the Nerazzurri fans that always support me and my co-workers."
Meanwhile, Milan caretaker boss Stefano Vecchi said that Gabigol needs to reflect on why he has not been getting in the team rather than getting angry.
Vecchi had given 18-year-old Andrea Pinamonti his Serie A debut instead of playing Gabigol, who is yet to start a Serie A game for Inter and has scored once in nine substitute appearances.
And Vecchi suggested afterwards that Gabigol's attitude was the reason for his omission.
"Maybe he did [expect to come on], but so did everybody on the bench," Vecchi told Mediaset. "Probably he has high expectations, but so too do the club and the fans in him. It's not always the coach's fault.
"He's got good quality which he needs to show for the good of the team. I'm sorry he didn't come on, but there's always a next time. We have some very good forwards in the squad -- [Mauro] Icardi scores 25 a season, Eder's doing really well and [Rodrigo] Palacio is a great player and also a great man -- he never gets a game, but he's always training as hard as he can.
"All of these should be examples to the youngsters. The club have already intervened this season [with Gabigol] and they have fined players regularly, even if nobody has spoken about this."
Vecchi is set to return to his former role as coach of the club's youth team for next season. He has stressed that Inter must get the best coach possible in place, and sporting director Piero Ausilio insists they will get the appointment right this time, having already suggested that Chelsea manager Antonio Conte is the perfect fit.
"I've already said what the characteristics we are looking for are -- our new coach has got to know Italian football, know our players and know the areas where Inter need to improve," he told Mediaset. "We have ideas in mind and we will develop these and make the best choice."
Inter cannot finish the season any higher than seventh with AC Milan beating them to a place in the Europa League third qualifying round thanks to their win over Bologna on Sunday.