Ranieri reacts to Porto draw

This is what the coach had to say...

Roma were in control of the game but was your defence caught napping when Porto equalised?

“We were, but we'd asked to make a substitution and the linesman knew it.”

Is that why you were protesting?

“Of course. He knew we needed to make a substitution. We played really well. We came here to win and I'm happy with the way the lads performed. What I'm not happy about is this – and I'm speaking to [UEFA Chief Refereeing Officer Roberto] Rosetti: everyone knows you are an upstanding, honest individual, so why did you send a referee that in 22 matches has overseen just nine draws for the away team and all the other times the home side won? You're an honest man but you knew that! This is a cauldron of a stadium, the crowd make an incredible noise and you appoint this match official? I don't get it.”

We were commenting on the yellow cards handed out rather arbitrarily.

“Yes, to everyone. To some he said he would and others he actually booked. I think he was waiting for something to happen in the box to let them win the game. The lads got really worked up about it because you can't do that.”

Did you sense he was that way inclined?

“Inclined? I told the lads to never make protests. It's not an inclination: that's how he referees. It's not his fault. He does his job and he's convinced he did it well. But in a game like this, there were eight bookings for us, including a second yellow. Of course some of the bookings were legitimate but it wasn't just that: you can't try to subdue players like that.”

We could see how worked up the players were as they went back into the dressing rooms.

“I sent the players away. I didn't want them to shake hands with the referee – he didn't deserve it. I mean, is this real? Something like this happening in an international competition?

It looked like Gianluca Mancini was showing the Roma crest to the referee to ask for respect.

"After [Lorenzo] Pellegrini went off, he became captain. He was showing him the armband so that he could speak to him."

Ten years ago teams used to make at least seven tackles per game, now it's no more than two because if you slide in you get booked. Players roll around on the ground.

“And they cry out...”

What annoys you most about this situation?

"Everything. It really riles me when they go up for a header and it looks like they've been hit in the face. They always cry out and hold their hands to their face... We should be booking them for simulation in those situations. We have VAR, don't we? Otherwise we can't play anymore. They take a blow to the stomach and they put their hands to the face and cry out loud. It's just not football.

“I'm very happy with our performance. The lads played really well. That's how it went today. It is what it is.”