Referee in Ranieri´s sights

Inter coach Claudio Ranieri has criticised referee Gianluca Rocchi for ‘ruining’ their Serie A encounter with Napoli on Saturday.

Ranieri endured his first loss since being appointed at the San Siro on September 22, with his 10-man side going down 3-0 to Walter Mazzarri’s men.

After an exciting start to proceedings, controversy ensued just before half-time as Napoli were awarded a penalty, with Inter midfielder John Obi receiving a second yellow card in the process.

Obi was shown his second caution for a challenge adjudged to be made inside the penalty area and was given his marching orders.

Ranieri was also sent to the stands after protesting the decision to send off the Nigerian, and the former Roma boss was critical of the referee’s overall performance in the match.

“(Gianluca) Rocchi was not good enough tonight, as Obi’s first yellow was non-existent and the second one was outside the box,” Ranieri said post-match, according to Tuttomercatoweb.

“He ruined a potentially fascinating match and also our first-half performance.”

However, the Italian coach quickly subsided his bitterness towards the officiating, and expressed sympathy towards his players and reflected on their unfortunate situation.

“Complaining is not my forte, and I have only done so a few times in the past in 20 years, but I have enough experience to know whether a referee is having a good or bad day,” Ranieri said.

“The boys did not deserve to be punished in this way. I was sent off because I complained too much, but we are men and it is normal to be frustrated when you are penalised by the referee.”