Daniele De Rossi denies Mario Balotelli bust-up

Italy's Daniele De Rossi has refuted reports that he was involved in a bust-up with international teammate Mario Balotelli.

The pair exchanged harsh words on the pitch during Italy's Euro 2012 quarter-final win over England, and there were rumours of a dressing room clash afterwards.

However, the Roma midfielder has now downplayed the incident, insisting that he has no problem with Balotelli.

"Yes, at the end of the first half we had words," The Sun quotes him as saying.

"Perhaps we might have shouted a bit louder because there was a lot of adrenalin, there was a lot of noise from the crowd.

"We were far away from each other so you had to raise your voice. But there are no problems whatsoever. All the talk of fights between us, that's not the case."

De Rossi went on to pay tribute to the Manchester City striker, calling him "a very good player".

He added: "I don't think Mario is a difficult character at all. I certainly don't have to make any extra effort there - he is one of the squad, nothing more, nothing less.

"I think we only speak about Balotelli a lot because he is a very good player.

Italy take on Germany for a place in the Euro 2012 final this evening (June 28).