Furious Ranieri may discipline Kamara after spot-kick spat

IT takes a lot for the phlegmatic Claudio Ranieri to talk of wanting to ‘kill’ one of his players, but Aboubakar Kamara somehow led the Italian to that point yesterday with his petulant behaviour.

The French striker insisted on taking the penalty he helped win in the 81st minute, which looked like it would be the decisive moment in this otherwise dour scrap between teams propping up the rest of the Premier League.

Like a child in the playground, Kamara refused to hand over the ball and — after an embarrassing spat with the nominated Aleksandar Mitrovic — then failed to fire it past Jonas Lossl in the Huddersfield goal.

The Serb rescued the situation by slipping home the injurytime winner, giving his side a priceless three points which looked to have been squandered ten minutes earlier.

Ranieri was mightily unimpressed and suggested there could be long-term consequences for Kamara’s career at Craven Cottage.

‘It is not right. He didn’t respect me, the club, his team-mates, the crowd,’ said the Fulham manager. ‘He took the ball, and just said, “I want to shoot”. He didn’t listen to reason.

‘I have spoken a little to him — I think he didn’t understand what I said. Mitrovic was the designated taker. He (Kamara) did not apologise, he just told me, “I wanted to shoot”. I said to him, “If the whole team eam just said I want to shoot, what would happen?” It is impossible to speak to this man. It is unbelievable, the first time in my life I’ve seen it.’

Kamara did not send the penalty wide de enough and delivered ed it at a comfortable height ight for Jossl. All’s well that ends well in terms of the win, but Ranieri warned that it may not be the end of the matter.

He said: ‘I don’t know if that is it, if it is finished or if it will continue. Maybe I will take him away from the squad.

‘I will do what is best for the squad. If it is good for them, he plays. If I think it isn’t, he comes out. The other players are calm because we won — but not me. It is important what you did and why.’

Mitrovic had a fever in the past week, but you would hardly have known it and once more Fulham have cause to be grateful for him. They head to Arsenal on New Year’s Day having taken five points from their last three matches.

He was magnanimous enough later and his body language during the penalty incident showed that he had conceded the argument with a good luck pat for his team-mate. ‘We had a small arg argument and I th think it is my job f for penalties,’ Mitrovic told Sky Sports. ‘He did not think like this but I r respect that. I have do done the same in the past. I don’t have a pr problem with this, he mis missed and that is part of foo football. ‘Last time (after a late Wolves equaliser on Boxing Day resulted in a draw) I said I am so unhappy I want to cry, today I want to say I am so happy I want to cry.’

Prior to the pulsating final 15 minutes there was nothing to commend a match that had lived down to its billing as a desperate relegation battle both sides needed to win.

Until some late scrambles, Huddersfield created little in the way of chances and with only ten points their situation looks almost hopeless. Fulham were not much better and after a shapeless first half, they left the field to a cacophony of boos from the anxious home support.

While Kamara ended the day as persona non grata his introduction at half-time did at least add some impetus — his speed and physical presence unsettling a Huddersfield defence that had looked solid enough.

Mitrovic was, however, once again the best player on display, while unable to convert several half-chances that came his way.

Ryan Sessegnon’s beautifully weighted through-ball in the first minute of injury time was the Serb’s first clear scoring opportunity.

‘He timed his run to perfection and swept the ball through the legs of the approaching keeper Lossl for his eighth goal of the campaign.

It consigned Huddersfield to a seventh straight defeat.

On this evidence Ranieri will also know that his team’s struggles are far from over — petulant squabbles or not.