Conceição's anger exploded at the end of the match when Milan was on the ropes, and he protested against referee Mariani.
Finished?
Not even close. Facing the microphones, the coach went further, tired of the constant attacks he believes he is receiving.
"If the directors tell me that I’m no longer needed, that I’m not a solution but a problem, I’ll pack my bags and leave. I don’t want a single euro more," he thundered.
The situation is red-hot, and Sergio’s words confirm it. The build-up to Sunday’s clash against Lazio will be... tough, as demonstrated by the ultras' protest at the end of the match, when they urged the players to “go to work.” The club intends to continue with Conceição and support him, as it did during the week, but the situation has become very difficult. And it’s only the end of February...
Milan and Conceicao against the referee
After a match that was supposed to bring Milan within five points of Juventus in fourth place—but instead left them eight points behind—the Portuguese coach is struggling, just like his entire team. Virtually, the Rossoneri’s race for next season’s Champions League is almost over, even though there are still twelve Serie A matches to play. Plus, there’s the Coppa Italia to try to win.
At the Dall’Ara, where Milan hadn’t lost since 2002, the moment became even more difficult due to Mariani’s officiating, which did not sit well with the former Porto manager.
"There was a blatant handball on their first goal, and on the second, the ball had gone out. Incredible. More needs to be done" (referring to the officiating, ed.) "about these negative incidents against us. We make mistakes, like against Feyenoord and Torino, but referees make mistakes too. And VAR doesn’t correct them. Now we have to keep working because we did some good things. I regret talking about the referee because he’s not responsible for the defeat—I take that blame... But it feels like we are always under fire. That all the key incidents go against us. There’s talk about the criteria for fouls—what’s given and what isn’t—but then certain incidents are judged differently, for us and for our opponents. And those incidents always go against Milan. That way, results don’t come, and the whole environment lacks serenity."
Source: La Gazzetta dello Sport
