MILAN - "Doubts about the penalty? It was non-existent," said Andrea
Stramaccioni to Sky Sport Italia after the Atalanta match.
The coach continued: "The referee greatly influenced the outcome. He said it was for a handball by Samuel. First I thought they were errors, but it turned out to be something that only the referee saw. We haven’t received a penalty yet in this second half of the season. I think Gervasoni, acting independently and on his own, influenced the outcome by seeing something that wasn’t there. Something that never took place. We spent five minutes trying to understand what had happened. At one point on the bench we thought it was a foul by Ranocchia, but then the referee said it was a handball by Samuel. You cannot do this. You simply cannot. We already have our problems but… you cannot award a penalty like that. I’m young, so maybe I’ll get run out at the end of the year. But it’s incredible to see a penalty like that given. We don’t have the strength to be stronger than these episodes. Third place? We just lost an ugly game. We’re not going to start making calculations now."
The coach then spoke to Mediaset: "A worrying sign to let in 4 goals? I believe that up to 3-1 we had control of the game. It’s a loss that carries a bad psychological significance. The boys were furious after the game, and although you can’t get carried away by your emotions some of these things are understandable. This hurts a lot because until the Juventus game, and I’m a young coach, I was convinced they were mistakes. But today the referee influenced the outcome by seeing something that wasn’t there. With all our shortcomings. We spent five minutes on the bench trying to understand what had happened. The mistake can be there in the act; you see it white while I see it black. But here the act was never there at all. Injuries? We’ve had a lot of problems and we have our own faults, but that’s football. If I had led Inter to 3 points today we’d be talking about something different."
Then he answered a few questions from RAI: "I said that until yesterday I thought they were just mistakes? It’s not a belief in a conspiracy. I’m just saying that there was simply nothing there this time. Not one player understood what had happened. If you look you’ll see all the players preparing for a corner."
To Cielo, che goal: "Cassano? He still has to be examined. He did that back-heel and then felt a twinge. It’s an unlucky season. After Palacio’s injury he was the only focal point in attack, but let’s wait for the test results before we say anything else. Am I disappointed? Yes, but this was an odd game today. We were in control up until it was 3-1. Until that penalty episode we hadn’t allowed Atalanta practically anything. Then came that penalty, which was a heavy blow psychologically. I believe the game was summed up in Ranocchia’s error from point blank range."
Finally, the coach stated from the press conference: "I can sense a bit that there’s little respect for this team, this shirt and these fans. When I speak of the difference between a mistake and something that never occurred I’m speaking precisely about the non-existence. I’ve never spoken about either conspiracies or ulterior motives. Write that down. I believe these are simply the thoughts of a young man who witnessed a game, and if players like Zanetti or Samuel should tell you that these things are strange...
"Are Inter not treated as a big team? I really don’t know. I’m sincere and I can tell you that I don’t believe it was anything premeditated. However, it’s undeniable that at these levels the episodes decide things. Do three minutes of added time lead us to think about ill intentions? Well, he also added one at the end of the first half for Cassano’s substitution…
"At any rate, I want to say that I don’t have a team full of 19 year olds, and seeing players like Zanetti and Cambiasso in disbelief is something odd. I said to the fourth official: 'Who made him whistle that penalty?' And seeing Milito and Palacio in jeans, and thinking about seeing Cassano in jeans as well, isn’t easy from a psychological standpoint. Third place? We believe, as long as it’s mathematically possible. My thoughts on Cassano’s injury? He hit a back-heel with a lot of strength, which is something that can strain the hamstring. I wouldn’t be so optimistic with the Coppa Italia game just 10 days away. When I was a fan I saw that it wasn’t possible to say certain things on TV… Now I might have to go to Japan to coach. Perhaps Nagatomo could put in a good word for me…"
