Furious Flying Donkeys

Chievo are furious that Reggina were ‘allowed’ to fight back from 3-0 down, but Walter Mazzarri insists he’s the one who should be angry.

The relegation dogfight will go down to the wire with five clubs – Chievo, Parma, Catania, Reggina and Siena – within a two-point radius and just one ticket left for Serie B.

Had Reggina lost their match at Empoli’s Stadio Castellani this afternoon, which did seem on the cards as they were trailing 3-0 at half-time, then they would have been alone in the last spot and Chievo safe.

This infuriated the Flying Donkeys, so coach Luigi Del Neri and his players refused to speak to the media after the games, realising their 1-0 victory over already relegated Ascoli was not enough.

"Chievo are angry because we fought back? I’m the one who should be angry, because looking at the footage Nicola Amoruso’s goal was not offside and it could have been 4-3 in our favour," slammed Reggina boss Mazzarri. "We are still here fighting to survive. We didn’t even impose a Press silence when we were a lot angrier for other issues."

The Amaranto would have been safe some time ago had they not been given an 11-point Calciopoli penalty.

"Anyone who saw the game could tell you that both teams fought tooth and nail for the result. Reggina put together 48 points on the field playing good football. If we were to count refereeing errors, we would have more points, not less."

It’s bad news for Chievo, who must face another of the at-risk sides next Sunday. The match with Catania on neutral turf at Bologna’s Stadio Dall’Ara could be decisive.

Parma welcome Empoli – who have already qualified for the UEFA Cup – to the Stadio Tardini and Reggina play at the Stadio Granillo against a Milan side focused on the Champions League.

Siena play their decider on home turf against Lazio, who have already qualified for the Champions League.