Why did Roma boss Claudio Ranieri haul his players off the pitch in Europa League draw with Porto?
Published 14/02/2025 at 12:58 GMT
A coveted place in the last 16 will hang in the balance in the second leg after Roma and Porto drew 1-1 in the first instalment of their UEFA Europa League play-off. And Roma manager Claudio Ranieri gave a firebrand interview after the match, taking aim at the officiating and explaining his decision to take his players off the field of play after the match.
Ranieri 'furious' as he tries to keep players away from referee
Video credit: TNT Sports
Claudio Ranieri was in a combative mood after Porto and Roma played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off.
The Italian ran onto the Estadio do Dragao pitch after the full-time whistle, insisting his players leave the field of play. The 73-year-old was unhappy with the officiating.
Mehmet Zeki Celik gave Ranieri's side a 1-0 lead on the stroke of half-time, but Francisco Moura got the hosts back on level terms in the 67th minute.
Seven Roma players were shown yellow cards during the match, with Bryan Cristante being sent off for a second bookable offence with 18 minutes remaining.
And in his post-match interview, Ranieri took aim at the officiating.
"It was a great game, we came here to win and I’m really happy with the performance.
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"The thing I don’t like, and I will speak to [UEFA managing director of refereeing Roberto] Rosetti about it, as everyone in the world knows that he is an upstanding and honest person.
"How can he send a referee to Porto with whom in 22 matches there have only been nine draws for the away team? Why this choice? Then there were all the cards.
"I told the guys to not protest, but he referees like this. Eight yellow cards for us and one red card. I sent the players away from him; he didn’t deserve a handshake."
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The second leg of the UEFA Europa League play-off will be shown live on TNT Sports and discovery+ on February 20.
TNT Sports will show over 500 matches from the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Conference League across the 2024-25 season. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+
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