Juventus coach Antonio Conte has released a statement hitting back at Inter Milan striker Antonio Cassano after comments yesterday.

Cassano slammed Conte in reaction to his claims the Inter ace was "all talk" and not the kind of player he wanted in Turin.

"I was astounded to read the statements from Mr Cassano, following which I am forced to make certain clarifying points," started Conte's reply on the official Juventus website.

"First of all, I never used the term 'morality,' despite the fact I have it in spades. I have already expressed my opinion on the ban for failing to report match-fixing in the past."

Conte has always denied the accusations and insisted he did not know about any alleged match-fixing.

"When asked how I choose players for Juventus, I said we look to the man, by which I meant how he interprets the role of footballer in a professional manner.

"That means effort, commitment, respecting the rules and the roles of others, plus caring about the common good of the team.

"I think that Mr Cassano has already shown many times over his career both on and off the field - such as his impressions of Fabio Capello at Real Madrid or insulting gestures at referee Roberto Rosetti and other incidents - that he does not have the requisite characteristics I am looking for.

"He told other anecdotes in his own autobiography, such as on page 109. I therefore feel that I need add nothing more, pointing out that when I use certain terms I fully evaluate their literal significance."

The passage on page 109 was on Cassano's time at Madrid, where he was very overweight and continued to eat all the wrong foods.