Ballardini: Italian refs lack common sense
Genoa coach Davide enjoyed Francesco Totti's performance but was frustrated at being sent off by the referee for berating his own players.
By FOX Sports Staff
The Italian was part of a tumultous sight following Daniele Portanova's collision with Pablo Daniel Osvaldo - tempers reached a breaking point as Totti and Juraj Kucka carried out a heated discussion while the coach unleashed a verbal assault of his own.
In a bid to secure control of the situation, all three of Totti, Kucka and Ballardini were carded with the Genoese sent to the stands, much to their dismay.
It marred an otherwise eventful 3-1 win for Roma at the Stadio Olimpico which also saw Totti become the second-highest scorer in Serie A history.
Ballardini was completely confused by the referee's decision as he stated after the match: "I was telling my players to put the ball out of play, seeing as Daniel Osvaldo had been down injured for some time. Referee Gervasoni then sent me off."
"I don't see what I had done wrong. I think the first rule ought to be to show common sense, but it's evident that common sense is the exception rather than the rule in Italy."
Although the Genoa coach enjoyed Totti's performance, he was not happy with the penalty awarded to the veteran striker early in the first half. Kucka earned the first of two yellow cards for fouling the Roma player as well.
"Totti is a champion and ought to be respected, but so must everyone else. I don't see what Kucka did wrong. Our referees are often excessively caught in the spotlight of star players," Ballardini continued.
"Tonight [Sunday] Genoa put in a great performance. It's the first time that I feel ready to compliment my players, as we did very well against a quality side.
"The idea was to stay tight and attack with Marco Borriello, plus the wingers, keeping the ball to feet. We did that all pretty well tonight.
"It's a shame we lost, but playing like this we are convinced Genoa will give us some great moments.
"We are not safe from the threat of relegation yet and must continue pushing forward."
Marco Boriello scored the only goal for the visitors and Genoa next take on high-fliers AC Milan on Friday night.