The Argentine intervened in defense of his teammate Dumfries, who was already in dispute with the Napoli coach for alleged simulation. This led to a commotion that brought back the difficult relationship between the two from their time together at Inter.
Lautaro told Conte “you’re shitting yourself” (euphemism), accompanying his words with a dramatic and unambiguous gesture, and the coach responded in kind, shouting all his anger at his former player. What happened in the 62nd minute of Napoli-Inter, a match literally dominated by controversy, is incredible. But let’s take it one step at a time.

The ‘casus belli’ is a foul by a Napoli player on Dumfries who, after a defensive clearance, rolls on the ground complaining of having suffered a hard blow. Conte, standing in front of the bench a few meters away from the action, pointedly invited the Dutchman to get up without exaggerating the contact. Dumfries himself, once play resumed, went face to face with the opposing coach to explain his reasons. This led to a commotion in front of the Azzurri bench, with Inter players intervening to defend their teammate.

Lautaro’s intervention—  Among them was captain Lautaro Martinez, Conte’s former player at Inter between 2019 and 2021. The Argentine, who remained near the center circle, drew the attention of his former coach with a dramatic gesture, closing his hand and pointing to his genitals. From his lip reading, he appears to be saying the Argentine expression “cagòn” (coward, ed.), made famous by the argument between Tevez and Allegri a few years ago. Conte’s equally dramatic response was not long in coming: the Napoli coach directed a clear insult at the Inter captain, earning himself a yellow card from referee Mariani (he appears to say “sto c…” to the Nerazzurri striker, and then “mi deve rispettare” to the referee).

The precedent in 2021—  This is not the first time that Lautaro Martinez and Conte have had a disagreement during a match: in 2021, after being substituted in the final minutes of a match between Inter and Roma, the Argentine kicked a water bottle, provoking Conte’s anger. With the stadium empty due to Covid restrictions, Conte came out with the expression: “You’re a f***ing phenomenon.” At that point, the Argentine invited his coach to settle the score in the locker room, before team manager Oriali intervened to quell the controversy. At least until tonight…