Inter Milan chief Alessandro Antonello has expressed his and his club’s anger at events in last weekend’s 3-2 defeat at home to Juventus.
Inter feel they were on the wrong end of numerous decisions by referee Daniele Orsato, influencing the outcome of a game which was crucial to both sides.
The Nerazzurri were leading 2-1 with three minutes remaining, but two late goals turned the game around and inflicted a severe blow to their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season, with rivals Roma and Lazio both picking up wins to move four points clear.
Antonello spoke on behalf of the Serie A club on Monday and admitted he still had not digested what happened at the San Siro.
“We decided to wait until today to comment because we didn’t want to speak in the heat of the moment and risk being influenced by all the emotions flying about,” Antonello told Inter TV.
“We’ve watched all of the incidents back and we cannot explain why two sets of weights and measures were used in the same game.
“Lots of things are changing in football, but it seems like some things always stay the same. Having said that, we’re proud of the history we have at this club.
“Everybody can see what happened. It was seen by 80,000 people at the stadium and by 700,000 people across 170 countries around the world. It definitely didn’t showcase the best of Italian football. In fact, I’d say it’s shown our game in a very bad light.”
Antonello said he could not fault the effort of his team, but added: “Some unacceptable things happened and we’re furious — the club deserves respect and so do our fans.”
A red card for Matias Vecino, given after Orsato had originally shown a yellow card but was contacted by VAR to change it to red, meant the Nerazzurri were forced to play over 70 minutes with only 10 men.
Orsato then chose not to show a second yellow card to Juve midfielder Miralem Pjanic when Inter believed he should also have been sent off early in the second half.
Antonello insists his team will regain their focus for their final three games of the season at Udinese, at home to Sassuolo and at Lazio, as they still seek a top four finish and Champions League football next season.
“I can guarantee that we’re all united and focused on achieving our season objective of a place in next year’s Champions League,” he said. “There won’t be any loss of focus. The lads showed what they can do on the pitch. They’re all great professionals and we’re expecting a quick reaction. Our objective hasn’t changed and we’ll show that on Sunday against Udinese.
“We’ve lost the battle and I think you can probably say it wasn’t our fault alone. But we want to win the war, for ourselves and for our fans.”
Ben Gladwell reports on Serie A, the Italian national team and the Bundesliga for ESPN FC, UEFA and the Press Association. @UEFAcomBenG.
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