Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso insists Lorenzo Insigne should not have been sent off against Inter. ‘In England and Scotland, they tell referees to **** off all the time.’
The captain saw red for insulting the official after a penalty was awarded, which Romelu Lukaku converted for the 1-0 victory.
“This only happens in Italy,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia in clearly irritable mood.
Napoli coach Gennaro Gattuso insists Lorenzo Insigne should not have been sent off against Inter. ‘In England and Scotland, they tell referees to **** off all the time.’
The captain saw red for insulting the official after a penalty was awarded, which Romelu Lukaku converted for the 1-0 victory.
“This only happens in Italy,” Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia in clearly irritable mood.
“I told the referee Massa that two minutes before the red card he complimented Insigne on how he was behaving as captain, then two minutes later sent him off.
“You can’t send off a player, especially the captain, for telling the referee to **** off after a dubious penalty.
“In England and Scotland, they tell referees to **** off all the time and nothing happens, only in Italy do players get sent off for this sort of thing.
“When I was a player, it was a sport, the referee should show some common sense and understand that after a dubious penalty, a player can say **** off and the official should pretend not to hear it. You can’t leave a team down to 10 men for that.
“He wasn’t even saying it to his face in an aggressive fashion.”
Gattuso was wearing a patch over his glasses, because he has an eye condition that flares up occasionally.
As for the game, Napoli had by far the better scoring opportunities, both before and after the dismissal of Insigne.
“It was a tactical game, in my view the team put in a great performance and we tried to do something a little new tonight. If we judge the overall match, then obviously Napoli deserved the points more, but you have to score goals. It felt like we’d be there all night trying to put the ball in the net with our hands and it still wouldn’t cross the line.
“Inter came forward to get us, while we managed to play our game anyway. Unfortunately, the ball didn’t go in the net.”
Napoli had another heavy blow, as Dries Mertens was carried off before half-time in tears.
“It’s a sprained ankle, we’ll see after the tests.”