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Coach-led Turin's Juventus team suffered a 1-0 defeat against Istanbul's Galatasaray in crucial group stage matches and withdrew from further competition.
The match, which started on Tuesday in Turkey, had to be interrupted due to weather conditions and poor field conditions just 27 minutes after the start of the game.
The next day, the field conditions were even worse, but the match referee Pedro Proenca received the green light from UEFA to continue the game, in which the only goal was scored by Wesley Sneijder.
"Meeting with the UEFA representative, we suggested postponing the match, but they did not listen to us. Roberto Mancini seemed to think it was dangerous to play in such conditions, and I agreed with him. I think I speak English clearly," the coach said.
"During the break, I tried to explain to the referee that playing in such weather conditions poses a danger to the players' health. Didier Drogba argued that the conditions were the same for everyone, but it was not true, as we tried to play football," he added.
"I would like to praise my boys, who gave it their all, even though we were unfairly punished. The match turned into a brawl," said the former Juventus captain.
"We made mistakes leaving everything to the last matches. I'm sure we would have played better on a normal field. We were knocked out unfairly because we could not foresee the circumstances, but we also made the situation difficult for ourselves," he continued.
When asked about how much impact the field conditions had on the final result of the match, A. Conte answered without hiding his anger.
"There is no 'how much' because we are talking about a game played in a swamp. That's all there is to it. In the second half, we played on a side of the field where it was impossible to launch attacks, while Galatasaray's side was in much better condition. I was most angry at the referee, who yesterday thought it was 'dangerous' to play, but today it's 'not dangerous'. Maybe I need to improve my English, because the referees don't understand me," lamented the Italian team's coach.
