GENNARO GATTUSO has slated officials in Italy claiming they are too sensitive compared to referees in England.
The Napoli boss lashed out after captain Lorenzo Insigne was sent off for dissent.
Napoli boss Gennaro Gattuso has launched a scathing attack on referees in ItalyCredit: EPA
Insigne was dismissed during Napoli’s 1-0 defeat to Inter Milan by referee Davide Massa after reacting angrily to a penalty awarded against goalkeeper David Ospina.
Hot-head Gattuso thinks Italian refs are too sensitive and claims Insigne would not have sent off if he had been playing in England or Scotland.
Gattuso told Sky Sport Italia: “This only happens in Italy.
“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 f*** off after a dubious penalty.
“In England and Scotland, they tell referees to f*** off all the time and nothing happens, only in Italy do players get sent off for this sort of thing.”
Gattuso, who spent a year at Rangers before starring for AC Milan, was no stranger to controversy during his playing career and was handed a four-match ban for headbutting Joe Jordan in 2011.
Continuing his post-match rant after Insigne’s red, Gattuso fumed: “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 f*** 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.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
