Valentino Rossi “pulled hard moves - his rivals could say bad things about him”

Valentino Rossi has been criticised for his fierce reopening of his feud with Marc Marquez.

Rossi caused a stir ahead of this weekend’s Emilia-Romagna MotoGP by hammering old rival Marquez for their notorious 2015 skirmish.

Marquez responded at Misano by claiming he ignores Rossi’s remarks.

TNT Sports’ Neil Hodgson had his say: “You would like to think, if you’d won nine championships, and someone said ‘what about 2015?’ I would say ‘what about the nine titles I won, the legacy I’ve built’.

“I don’t know why you’d want to go over old ground and say nasty things about current riders.

“Rossi pulled hard moves on a lot of riders. His rivals could easily say bad things about him.

“I didn’t think he needed to go over it again.

“The fact that Valentino’s career went on so long? How incredible.

“Marc has won the last two races after all his injuries, his age. We’re in a golden era.”

Boos for Marquez? "I was so angry"

Proof of the hatred between Marquez’s and Rossi’s factions was evident at Misano for the last MotoGP round.

Fans booed the victorious Marquez, forcing title rival Pecco Bagnaia into asking them to stop.

“The local fans didn’t approve of Marc winning even though he’s in the Gresini team. It is short-sighted,” TNT Sports’ Suzi Perry said.

“[Nadia Padovani] said it hurt us, we’ve been through a lot, we didn’t deserve it. It tainted the victory for her.

“It also upset Pecco Bagnaia who tried to calm it, to soften it, which Marc thanked him for.”

Hodgson said: “It feels poor. I’ve been involved in this sport for 30 years.

“It’s something that crept in after 2015 then disappeared for a bit.

“The booing was so loud, I couldn’t believe it.

“What was sad… Marc was pointing to the sky for Fausto Gresini. It was so beautiful. And I’m looking at the track invasion, and everyone booed. It made me so angry! I was fuming!

“You don’t have to like Marquez. I understand. Certainly if you’re a Rossi fan, you will hate Marquez forever.

“I assume it’s like if you’re a Manchester United fan you will always hate Liverpool.

“With our sport, it’s rare for this to happen. It has captured a percentage of fans. Marquez or Rossi - you’re one or the other.

“I was such a Rossi fan but I love Marquez as well.

“At bike shows when I’m challenged that I love Marquez or Rossi, I say ‘I like them both!’”

Michael Laverty added: “The crowds that we get in Italy are quite partisan. It’s because of the Rossi 2015 moment.

“It will linger forever, I don't know if Marc will out-live it with Italian fans, even if he wins a title on an Italian brand.”