'I don’t think this has ever happened to another club!' - Antonio Conte rules Napoli out of Serie A title race after Coppa Italia exit

Napoli's season hit a new low on Tuesday night as they were dumped out of the Coppa Italia quarter-finals by Como. A 1-1 draw at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, where Antonio Vergara struck early in the second half to cancel out a Martin Baturina penalty for Napoli - led to a tense shootout. Ultimately, decisive misses from Romelu Lukaku and Stanislav Lobotka condemned the hosts to defeat.

However, Conte’s post-match fury was directed largely at the referee. The Napoli boss felt aggrieved that Como defender Jacobo Ramon was not sent off for a foul on Rasmus Hojlund, a decision he believes typifies a poor season for Italian officials. He called on referee designator Gianluca Rocchi to step up, insisting that the current level of officiating is detrimental to the Italian game.

"It's certainly not a good season for referees and for VAR, I hope they can find something that will improve the situation," Conte told Sport Mediaset. "The fact is, everyone is complaining, coaches, players and fans, so the sport needs to step up and improve, because just as we improve our teams, Rocchi has to improve his referees and VAR officials. It's not good for football, it's not good for us."

While the refereeing decisions rankled, Conte saved his most bitter assessment for the injury crisis ravaging his squad. When asked if the elimination might actually help Napoli focus on closing the nine-point gap to leaders Inter in Serie A, the manager laughed off the suggestion. He listed a catalogue of serious injuries to key stars, including Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Kevin De Bruyne and Billy Gilmour, as reasons why his hands are tied.

"What an absurd question," Conte responded. "How can you predict Di Lorenzo's injury, or Lukaku with a detached tendon, De Bruyne with damage to a tendon in a leg he already had an operation on, or Gilmour who needs surgery and spends months out. How can you predict that?

"What we can do is go to a shrine and pray, because these are injuries that last for the whole season. With six or seven important players out for months at a time, it forces the same ones to keep playing all the time, so that creates problems for [Scott] McTominay and [Amir] Rrahmani. I don't think this sort of thing has ever happened to another club."

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The former Chelsea and Juventus boss was keen to shield his players from criticism, arguing that they are overachieving given the lack of resources. He highlighted that while Como arrived with a full squad and 10 days of rest, Napoli were patching together a team just three days after a gruelling match against Genoa, where they had finished with 10 men.

Conte also took a swipe at the club's transfer strategy, noting that he was told they "couldn't do anything" in the market, leaving him with a thin squad that is being stretched to breaking point.

"I can only praise these players, because we are pushing beyond our current potential," he insisted. "We have very few resources available, which are simply nowhere near the ambitions that we should've had for this season. Despite that, the lads are doing remarkably well... considering the squad at our disposal right now, any coach would struggle."

With the Coppa Italia and Champions League now gone, Napoli's season is in danger of fizzling out completely. Conte was brutally honest about his team's standing in the hierarchy, listing Inter, AC Milan, Roma and Juventus as superior forces. He demanded "serious evaluations" from the media, suggesting that any talk of defending their Scudetto or mounting a late challenge is completely detached from the reality of their situation.

"I think what we are doing this season is incredibly positive, in the circumstances," Conte concluded. "As for the Scudetto, there's a nine-point gap, we have serious problems and you are talking about the Scudetto. Come on. There's Inter, Milan, Roma, Juventus, even Como, what are we talking about? We have to be serious in questions and evaluations too, otherwise it all becomes ridiculous."