Sinisa Mihajlovic shrugged off the refereeing controversy in Torino’s 3-1 win at Lazio, but confirmed Adem Ljajic was dropped for “bad behaviour.”
The victory at the Olimpico was overshadowed by controversy, as Lazio were denied a penalty for Iago Falque’s handball and in the ensuing protests Ciro Immobile was sent off for jerking his head towards Nicolas Burdisso.
Sinisa Mihajlovic shrugged off the refereeing controversy in Torino’s 3-1 win at Lazio, but confirmed Adem Ljajic was dropped for “bad behaviour.”
The victory at the Olimpico was overshadowed by controversy, as Lazio were denied a penalty for Iago Falque’s handball and in the ensuing protests Ciro Immobile was sent off for jerking his head towards Nicolas Burdisso.
“I don’t want to get into refereeing decisions. We’ve got VAR now, he went to see it and made these decisions,” the Coach told Mediaset Premium.
“I want to talk about our performance, because we wanted a great game and I am very proud of my lads. Obviously, playing against 10 men helps, but in the first half we created four or five clear-cut chances too and just as many after the break.
“I’ve been in similar situations as a player and a Coach, now there is VAR and the referee can view anything he wants. If he saw that and made that decision, what more can we do? I am not a referee, so I’m not judging and I don’t care.”
This result ended a run of four consecutive stalemates, which had put Mihajlovic’s position in doubt.
“When you are in this profession, every week is a risk. I have faith in my work, in my lads, I know how we are training and that in the end hard work pays off. I was never troubled by these rumours and the club never mentioned the possibility.”
Ljajic was not even on the bench, officially due to a stomach bug, but Mihajlovic spilled the beans.
“Ljajic went into the stands for bad behaviour. The squad counts for more than the individual. He did some things during the week that I didn’t like and I expect a different attitude, a positive example, from a player like him. I sent him to the stands, we’ll see tomorrow if he has learned his lesson.
“Andrea Belotti is physically fit now, he just needs to seek the goal with less desperation. I don’t know how else to tell him he needs to stay calm.”