Parma goalkeeper Luca Bucci has defended his reaction to McDonald Mariga's sending off against Napoli on Sunday.
Mariga collided with the Azzurri wing-back Daniele Mannini in the Crociati penalty area, prompting the referee to show the Kenyan a red card.
Maurizio Domizzi, who scored the resulting penalty, claimed Bucci had been unsporting and tried to put him off, begging him to miss because Mariga's red card was unfair.
“It's not in my character to ask for favours. Neither I nor the other Parma players asked him to miss,” insisted the veteran 'keeper.
“Mannini told me Mariga got the ball and not the man, so I wanted him to be honest and go tell the referee to stop the penalty being taken,” said the 39-year-old.
Bucci has been commended for his fair play in the past. Two weeks ago against Lazio he corrected the linesman to award the Biancocelesti a corner.
The Gialloblu were enraged by the performance of referee Nicola Ayroldi in the match, as they finished the match with eight men after seeing red three times.
Parma's defeat leaves them just a point above the drop zone with four fixtures left, including tough matches against Inter and Fiorentina.
