Inter managet Antonio Conte has hit out at the referees for a lack of respect in a 2-1 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Conte, who was warned by the referees about his conduct, particularly felt Inter Milan should have been awarded a penalty for a foul on Stefano Sensi and said respect for referees must go both ways.
After the match Antonio Conte spoke to Sky Sport: “It’s a false result, we deserved a lot more. Praise after a game like this don’t mean much unfortunately. We need to capitalize more on the chances we created. Barcelona grew in the second half. I am a little bitter.”
Conte was not happy with the referee after the match, saying: “I also saw some situations that were addressed incorrectly. I am not only referring to the penalty that wasn’t given. It wasn’t a positive feeling.
“What did the ref say to me? He gave me a yellow. I asked respect from the referee, like what’s written on his shirt. This respect must be reciprocated. I carry a little bitterness with me, also because we’re talking about a top referee.
“I don’t want to give you excuses for my players, I’m talking about my feelings. We needed to kill the game off in the first half.”
“I don’t believe the result was right. Now we lick our wounds and think about the game against Juve. Defeats make me suffer, which is why it’s difficult for me to speak positively.
“We played a good game and lost three points. The Champions League situation is compromised. We lick our wounds but we will continue to get better to become stronger.”
He concluded by saying that his side can’t be happy with how they fared if they are wanting to take the next step toward improving.
“The way we played when in possession was intended to hurt Barcelona. Their goal was to simply keep the ball. At a certain point we no longer had that same lucidity to go out and beat their press but the team gave it their all.
