Italian refereeing chief hits back at critics

"Everybody has thought of their own interests and not about the good of the game, the (problems) that you can cause by saying the wrong things," Marcello Nicchi, the head of the Italian Refereeing Association (AIA), told state broadcaster RAI in an interview.

Recent controversies have included the award of a 97th minute penalty which gave leaders Juventus a 2-1 win over AC Milan 10 days ago, the award of two penalties to Napoli in a Serie A match against Crotone and the award of two penalties to Juventus in a cup match against Napoli.

Referee performances in Serie A are pulled apart in detail on roundtable television programmes and by newspapers and debates can last for days.

"On the basis of a few mistakes, some clubs have found justification for failing to achieve their objectives, some coaches have started eyeing the renewal of their contracts and some editors have taken advantage to sell a few extra copies," said Nicchi, himself a former international referee.

"In doing, so they forget they hurt the image of Italian football.

"We have had some wonderful, intense games but (the result) has been traced back to a single incident such as throw-in, a penalty - things which will always happen even with the use of technology." (Writing by Brian Homewood, editing by Pritha Sarkar)