Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte confronts Lautaro Martinez after striker kicked out at a water bottle

‘Have respect! Who are you angry with?’ Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte furiously confronts Lautaro Martinez after striker kicked at a water bottle in anger having been replaced as a substitute during 3-1 win over Roma


Lautaro Martinez and Antonio Conte were involved in a furious touchline bust up on Wednesday night after the Inter Milan striker was substituted having been sent on as a sub earlier in the game. 

Martinez came on as a replacement in the 36th minute during Inter’s 3-1 victory over Roma after Alexis Sanchez had picked up an injury for the newly crowned Italian champions.

Yet following an insipid display in the Serie A clash he was replaced with 13 minutes to play by Andrea Pinamonti.

As the striker trudged off the pitch, he was seen casting a furious glance in the direction of Conte, with the Inter boss paying no attention to the forward.

Martinez though soon caught it, when as he made his way back to the Inter dugout he kicked out at a water bottle that caused a few in the contingent on the Inter bench to duck for cover.

Conte immediately turned to Martinez and furiously berated the striker saying: ‘Have respect! Who are you angry with? Never react like this again.’ according to Sky Sport Italia.

The 23-year-old’s reaction was to remove his match shirt and throw it to the ground following another frustrating night for the 23-year-old. 

Inter Milan assistant Cristian Stellini admitted Martinez’s removal was due to the striker not putting in his best performance possible and that despite Inter’s title win the squad was still expected to show full commitment.

Stellini himself revealed he had once been replaced as a substitute by Conte in his playing career while both were at Bari.

‘This is something that also happened to me 14 years ago when Conte was my coach and I was still a player. He substituted me after 20 minutes,’ Stellini told Sky Sport Italia.

‘This is an example of the mentality we want to see. Even if the result is already secure, we expect all the players to give the maximum effort.

‘At that moment, Lautaro was not playing up to the right standard and we want players who are always fully focused.

‘Some things remain on the pitch, it’s all in the past now and we will look forward to the next match.’

Martinez has scored 16 goals from 26 Serie A games this term but has scored just once in his last seven matches. 

Having already won the Serie A title to end nine years of Juventus dominance, Inter pulled 13 points clear of Atalanta at the top with two games to play.

Their 3-1 win at the San Siro came with goals from Matias Vecino and Marcelo Brozovic who put them 2-0 up in 20 minutes before Henrikh Mkhitaryan pulled a goal back.

But Inter made the points in the final minute when Romelu Lukaku struck for the hosts.