The Juventus boss was unhappy with officiating in their Champions League encounter with Real Madrid and expects the standard of refereeing to improve on matchday four
Juventus coach Antonio Conte is turning up the heat on referees as he says despite the controversial encounter with Real Madrid he is willing to keep his faith in officials.
The Bianconeri boss was left bemused on Champions League matchday three when Real Madrid received a penalty and defender Giorgio Chiellini was later dismissed in the 2-1 defeat to Madrid.
Manuel Grafe, the referee at the Santiago Bernabeu in that game, has reportedly since been dropped from officiating in matches of this significance, and Conte hopes for an improvement in refereeing when the sides meet at Juventus Stadium on Tuesday.
“Refereeing decisions affected the game in the first tie. But referees make mistakes like everyone does,” the 44-year-old told a press conference.
“We need to think about playing football and maintaining our confidence in the referees that we’re assigned.”
English official Howard Webb will be in charge of the match that is of crucial importance to the Juve’s Champions League ambitions.
The Serie A champions have taken two points from their opening three games in Group B and know another loss to Madrid on Tuesday could jeopardise their chances of making it through to the last 16.
“There’s great fascination surrounding this fixture, Juve against Real is a historic tie in European football,” Conte continued.
“It’s a great tie that’s important for our progress in the Champions League. We need to be proud that we’re involved in a game like this.
“We can also change things as the game progresses. What counts more, however, is the desire we show on the night.
“We approach the game following three league wins and need to show that we deserve to go through to the knockout stages.”