Antonio Conte vented even more rage at the Juventus–Genoa referee in his Press conference. “I go home with bad thoughts in my mind.”
Antonio Conte vented even more rage at the Juventus-Genoa referee in his Press conference. “I go home with bad thoughts in my mind.”
The Coach was furious after the 1-1 draw with Genoa, as in stoppages the ball ricocheted off Andreas Granqvist’s shin and on to his arm. The referee judged it to be ‘not deliberate’ and therefore waved play on.
“I did not get angry at the penalty that wasn’t given, let’s be clear. I was angry at the rest,” said Conte in his post-match Press conference.
Conte claimed referee Marco Guida had said he “didn’t feel ready” to give the penalty. It is reported that Guida denied using this phrase.
“To err is human, I can accept an error if I’m told that the incident could not be seen properly, just as other incidents weren’t seen like the shirt-tug on Mirko Vucinic, the push on Paul Pogba or the penalty for Genoa…
“However, if an incident is so serious that the assistant tells you it’s a penalty, then you have to give it. How can we even discuss this?
“I go home with a thousand thoughts in my head, because hearing a referee tell me he ‘didn’t feel ready’ is absurd. I say a referee, for or against Juve, must give the penalty right to the last minute. I am a man of sport, but I do not accept this sort of thing and I never will. Tonight I go home with bad thoughts in my mind.”
Conte raged against those trying to tell him that handball must be deliberate to qualify as a foul.
“The rules speak clearly. This is not a penalty that can be given, it is a penalty. Let’s not change the cards on the table, otherwise tomorrow I’ll read the papers with ‘dubious penalty not given to Juve.’ It’s not dubious, it is stonewall. Otherwise I’ll see people in bad faith.
“Be objective. If Leonardo Bonucci had a situation like this, tomorrow you’d have splashed the headline ‘Clear penalty denied to Genoa.’
“I saw one team that was attacking and one that was defending with 11 men. They denied us three penalties.”
General manager Beppe Marotta suggested Guida was nervous about giving the penalty because he is from Naples and Napoli are challenging Juve for the Scudetto.
When asked about this comment, Conte refused to respond and asked for another question.
“Do I fear a fine or ban for what I said? Oh great, now they’ll suspend me for saying ‘Shame.’ If there’s a goal line official who gives a penalty and the referee ignores him, what are we talking about? Does this seem like sport to you? Then I’ll hear some Saint on television moralising from his armchair.
“We are talking about something very strange that happened here. A human error is one thing, but when an official says it’s a penalty and the referee doesn’t give it, then doubts are going to arise.”