Claudio Ranieri has accused Jose Mourinho of ‘spying’ and suggested “if he had done my same work at Juventus, the media would’ve praised him.”
The rivalry between the two tacticians has always simmered, but it boiled over following Sunday’s 1-1 draw at San Siro.
The Inter boss protested about the referee, sending his Roma counterpart into an incredulous rage, but two days later the fire is still burning.
“In football anything can happen, but I cannot accept being taken for a ride,” he told the Corriere dello Sport.
“Mourinho always sends someone to listen to what others say, then report back so he always arrives prepared for the interviews.
“Rather than say certain things, he’d have done better to stay silent. At the end of the game I didn’t want to say anything, but when I heard he was accusing me of ‘crying’ and even that the referee was too fussy with the number of fouls, I couldn’t help but give my position.
“When it’s too much, it really is too much.”
Ranieri was fired by Juventus last season with the team in third place, but he dragged the Italian media into the row too.
“If Mourinho had done my same work at Juventus in the two years I spent there, the media would’ve praised him. Instead, I got fired. If he is like that, it is also to a degree your fault.”
Not content with this rant, the Roma boss also spoke to radio station Gr Parlamento.
“Inter are a team who know how to play and hold their position on the field, but I cannot stand by when Mourinho says the referee did a bad job.
“We were the ones trying to play football, while they should’ve been punished with more yellow cards.
“Every time we tried to go on the counter and got past a man in midfield, an Inter player would systematically haul us down.
“Mourinho is a great communicator and good for Italian football. Maybe sat down alone in a room we might even agree on things, but when we are in front of a microphone it’s unlikely we’ll ever get along.”
