Boss Maresca doesn’t feel he gives officials a ref ride
ENZO MARESCA said he has no case to answer over his approach to referees.
Leicester’s boss will be watching tomorrow’s clash against Ipswich from the stands after falling foul of officialdom.
The Italian received his third caution of the season after complaining to the fourth official during the Foxes’ defeat by neighbours Coventry last week.
Maresca was upset that Sky Blues forward Kasey Palmer had not received a second caution for a tackle from behind – and made his feelings known.
Having had a few days to cool down, the former Juventus midfielder was asked whether he would calm down. He said: “The only mistake I made after the Coventry game was that I wasn’t going to talk about the referee – and I talked about the referee.
“In terms of the way I behave, I don’t think there’s anything to change because when you see the effort from your players and there’s a big gamechanging moment, and something doesn’t happen, you get frustrated.
“That’s normal. Coventry game, penalty and a red card. It’s a game-changer. We might have missed the penalty. But it would have been 0-0 with them having a red card.
“So you get frustrated. I wasn’t complaining about a small foul. I was talking about a game-changer.”
The Foxes travelled to Kieran Mckenna’s side on Boxing Day and it took a late Sam Morsy goal to rescue a point for the Tractor Boys.
Maresca added: “They are an unbelievable team.
“You can see what they have done, their consistency working with the same manager who has had time to implement his ideas. That has helped them.”