Conte's Tempest Sparks Ban and Fine: Napoli-Inter's Fiery clash ends with sanctions
14 January 2026
Conte's Tempest Sparks Ban and Fine
Antonio Conte, Napoli's head coach, received a heavy sanction after being sent off with a red card during the Napoli‑Inter meeting at Giuseppe Meazza last Sunday in Serie A round 20.
Conte exploded in anger when the referee and VAR awarded a penalty to Inter that produced their second goal, then swung a water bottle near the bench. The display earned him a straight red card from the on‑field official.
According to the Italian league, Conte has been suspended for two matches, ruling him out from coaching from the touchline for Napoli's upcoming fixtures versus Parma and Sassuolo. He was also fined €15,000.
In the same disciplinary round, Paolo Vanoli of Fiorentina and Davide Nicola of Cremonese were sent off but received one‑match suspensions. Additionally, a handful of players from other clubs were hit with one‑game bans, including those from Lecce, Pisa, Napoli, Cremonese and Udinese, among others.
Further disciplinary measures were announced for other players across the league, with a mix of longer bans and single‑match suspensions for incidents during the same set of fixtures, underscoring how heated this round proved to be.
Punchline 1: Conte's temper has better stamina than most players—two extra matches and a fine, and it’s still not time for his post‑match press conference to cool down. Punchline 2: In football, timing is everything, but Conte seems to have mastered the art of turning a red card into a longer off-air break for everyone else.
