Napoli refute claims they told Parma to lose

Napoli have refuted claims that their players told relegated Parma they should lose during ugly scenes at the end of their 2-2 Serie A draw on Sunday.

Tensions boiled over at the conclusion of the game at the Stadio Ennio Tardini, with Napoli striker Gonzalo Higuain and Parma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante needing to be pulled apart after squaring up.

Higuain is reported to have asked Mirante “what do you want? You are already in Serie B” while Parma forward Raffaele Palladino claimed Napoli branded the home players as “failures”.

“I was there and I heard what was said after the game,” Parma coach Roberto Donadoni told Sport Mediaset. “Having people tell us we should lose just because we’re bankrupt and already relegated is disgusting and shameful.

“It wasn’t just Higuain, but a few others said the same on the field during the game. When you hear something like that from a director, though, it’s a real tragedy.

“This is all incredible. I don’t want to name names, as if I have something to say to these people, I’ll do it to their faces.”

But a statement posted on Napoli’s Twitter account read: “All the protests at the final whistle were exclusively based on the continual time-wasting. None of these protests had anything to do with Parma’s effort, which obviously was impeccable.”