Claudio Ranieri denied inciting Leicester City fans to express their disapproval of the referee, Craig Pawson, during his team’s chaotic 2-2 draw at Stoke City. The Italian said that all his words and gestures – to the referee and the travelling fans – were intended to defuse rather than inflame a volatile atmosphere following the first-half dismissal of Leicesterhis striker Jamie Vardy and a controversial penalty decision given against Danny Simpson.
Ranieri is normally a model of tact when it comes to referees, refusing to discuss their performance on the grounds that their jobs are exceptionally difficult, but at half-time he walked towards Pawson in the centre circle and appeared unusually angry before being ushered away by his goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel.
As Ranieri and the officials made their way towards the tunnel, near where the Leicester fans were located, Ranieri gestured to them, some of whom seemingly interpreted his hand movements as an invitation to offer their own view of Pawson. Stewards raised their arms to shield the referee, with suggestions that at least one coin was thrown.
“I just wanted to show to our fans, our players, to ‘keep going, stay with us’,” said Ranieri, insisting that he was pointing at the pitch rather than the referee.
Ranieri also seemed irate when, in the 28th minute, Vardy was sent off for raising both feet off the ground as he jumped into a challenge on Mame Biram Diouf while tangling with Glen Johnson but the manager was diplomatic. “Every decision could be different. We must respect the referee every time,” he said
Leicester are certain to be fined, at least, after six of their players were shown yellow cards on top of Vardy’s red. Ranieri said that his team lost his cool but praised them for regaining their composure at half-time and fighting back from 2-0 down to gain a draw thanks to goals by Leonardo Ulloa and Daniel Amartey.
“The match changed after Jamie was sent off, my players were so nervous,” he said. “After the penalty we lost our calm, our shape, everything. But fortunately in the dressing room we started to think what was best for the match. I want to say thank you to my players, to our fans.”
