The League handed Maurizio Sarri a two-game ban following his spat with Alexis Saelemaekers in the final minutes of Milan-Lazio. The coach vigorously criticized the decision in the presser ahead of the Europa League game against Galatasaray.
“One match of the suspension stems from the fact that my behavior was considered violent. I disagree. I simply told him to be more respectful. Instead, 30 meters away from me, a Milan player (Zlatan Ibrahimovic) grabbed one of ours (Lucas Leiva) by the hair. However, they did not sanction him.”
Sarri also argued against the second half of his punishment: “The other part supposedly was for blasphemy. That just is not true. I approached the referee in the tunnel towards the locker room. I said to him that he allowed a kid to mock me for 15 minutes without doing anything. And he kicked me out. I did not swear. There are at least three persons that can vouch for me.”
The gaffer is hell-bent on fighting the decision: “I have already mandated my lawyers to verify whether there could be ground to take the legal route outside of the sports realm to establish the truth.”
Sarri went against the grain on the Europa League: “It is a beautiful competition. Serie A summarizes how the season went; instead, you have to be a little lucky in the cup. I have already played in one final, and it was exhilarating. I will insert some newcomers tomorrow because they deserve it, but I will pick the best possible XI.”