Bortolo Mutti blames the referee for Palermo’s 4-1 defeat at Siena, especially after Federico Balzaretti was sent off within 73 seconds.
Bortolo Mutti blames the referee for Palermo’s 4-1 defeat at Siena, especially after Federico Balzaretti was sent off within 73 seconds.
The Rosanero went down to 10 men in the opening moments of the game, as Balzaretti tripped Mattia Destro on the counter-attack.
“It was a game that we never really played because of that red card, which in my view should not have been given, as it was not a clear scoring opportunity,” said Coach Mutti.
“As for the penalty, even Franco Brienza told the referee he had made more of the contact than was really there, but the official did not listen to him.
“We talk so much about fair play and then when a player actually does come forward and admit to a bit of a dive, the referee ignores him. These things really do irritate me.
“We wanted to play in a different manner here, but naturally had to change everything straight away. There is a lot of bitterness at those incidents that prevented us from playing.”