English referee will help us, says Filipovic

Montenegro coach Zoran Filipovic has hailed the selection of an English referee for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Italy here.

Filipovic said that with Martin Atkinson at the helm, the Italians would be less able to resort to gamesmanship tactics to gain an advantage.

“Luckily there will be an Englishman refereeing,” said Filipovic.

“With Atkinson on the pitch we will feel calmer because Italy will do anything to get a positive result, even things such as throwing themselves to the floor to buy time.”

Montenegro had been infuriated by Italian tactics in the pair’s clash in Lecce last year when the hosts were holding onto a 2-1 lead.

Their players repeatedly went to ground and stayed there while their team-mates indicated to Montenegro players to kick the ball out of play so the player could get medical attention.

This happened many times as Montenegro were counter-attacking and resulted in the visitors accusing the Italians of consistently play-acting.

Filipovic described the Italians as “cunning and simulators” and added: “Italy won’t be helped by an official who is used to a more physical and less stop-start game.”

Other than having to deal with the darker antics associated with the Italian game, Filipovic is also confident his team is ready to challenge the world champions, who also lead World Cup qualifying group eight.

“We know everything about Italy and we have a plan to combat them. The most important thing will be our mentality: high motivation but with calm and intelligence,” he said.

Midfielder Stevan Jovetic, who plys his club trade in Italy with Fiorentina, said the hosts cannot afford to make mistakes.

“We have to play with calm and concentration for the whole match because against Italy one single mistake can cost you dearly,” he said.