Napoli Coach Walter Mazzarri has revealed the extent of his fury after the Super Cup defeat to Juventus” data-scaytid=”2″>Juventus. “I wanted to resign. We were right not to attend the ceremony.”
Napoli Coach Walter Mazzarri has revealed the extent of his fury after the Super Cup defeat to Juventus. “I wanted to resign. We were right not to attend the ceremony.”
The Partenopei were livid in Beijing last week when Goran Pandev, Juan Camilo Zuniga and Mazzarri himself were sent off in the final minutes of the Italian Super Cup.
It was 2-2 after 90 minutes, but with 11 against nine the Bianconeri ran out 4-2 winners. In protest, Napoli boycotted the presentation of the trophy. Pandev and Andrea Dossena were awarded two-match bans for Serie A.
“I tell this to those who look at other people’s business and not their own – I’d love to have seen what others would’ve done in our place, if they had suffered what we did during and after the game,” snapped Mazzarri in today’s Press conference.
“I hope the Disciplinary Commission accepts our appeals, but from what the referee wrote in his report they added insult to injury.
“We were right not to attend the ceremony. What would’ve happened if we had faced the referees at the end of the game, after the decisions they made? I think Napoli made the right choice.”
The Coach reveals just how angry he was at the final whistle and why the club locked down a media silence.
“There was a moment when I wanted to resign, and not in the heat of the moment either. However, this week I was at a ‘Juventus stronghold’ and the Bianconeri fans apologised to me.
“Valon Behrami was pushed for a blatant penalty that Rizzoli didn’t see. Interpretations of the rules can happen, but we cannot accept that the rules are applied in two different ways. We are indignant – not with the opponents, but with these aspects.”
Mazzarri and Zuniga have one-match bans, so will be out of the Serie A opener against Palermo.
“I am here because I still have the desire to fight and to try to win in the right way,” continued the tactician.
“I hope this game can serve us all well for the future, as we have to be careful on certain dangerous parameters. We are at the highest level here and a mistake must be paid for.
“I am appealing my ban because the report says the fourth official heard what I said and decided for the red card. However, it was the linesman who called the referee over and got me sent off. There are massive errors in the paperwork and, of course, during the game the decisions were only ever against us.
“If a debutant protests then he must be sent off, but so should a champion. Instead there is this psychological sublimation, a factor that has affected results many times and was made perfectly clear during this important game.”
Mazzarri also blasted Juventus stand-in Coach Massimo Carrera, who claimed Napoli had enacted “a man-hunt” on the pitch with tough tackles.
“He invented all of it and must’ve seen a different game. Juventus committed many tackles worthy of a yellow card that weren’t given. From the first to the final minute, there was an unequal approach against Napoli.
“We will go to Palermo to play for the win, despite the bans. I am confident, as we would’ve probably beaten Juventus had it not been for the refereeing decisions… In any case, Napoli will have a great campaign.”