The Inter qualifies for the Coppa Italia semifinals

Inter qualified for the semifinals of the Coppa Italia after defeating Napoli 2-0, but homophobic insults uttered by Napoli's coach Maurizio Sarri to his counterpart Roberto Mancini overshadowed the match played on Tuesday.

Mancini and Sarri were expelled in the discounts after getting into a discussion on the side of the field.

"Sarri is a racist. Men like him cannot be in football," said Mancini to Rai Sport. "I stood up to ask the fourth referee why there were five additional minutes. He started insulting me, shouted 'fagot..' He is 60 years old, he should be ashamed."

"I am not interested in talking about the match. This surpasses it... I went to look for him in the dressing room and he apologized, but I told him he should be ashamed. In England, someone like him would not be allowed to be coaching."

Mancini did not attend the press conference after the match.

Sarri indicated that "I reacted badly" after the expulsion of Napoli forward Dries Mertens, two minutes from the end, after receiving a second yellow card for pretending a foul in the penalty area.

"The decision on Mertens annoyed me. I have nothing against Mancini," said Sarri. "I apologized to him... I think he will accept my apology tomorrow."

"I don't even remember what I said to him. Maybe I offended him, but he must stay here. Am I a homophobe? That seems exaggerated to me. I said something in a fit of anger. I do not discriminate against anyone. However, if I used words that could have offended the gay community, I apologize."

The "Nerazzurri", who are third in the league, will face the winner of Wednesday's match between Lazio and Juventus.

With 16 minutes left in the match, Montenegrin Stevan Jovetic scored with a stunning shot, about three meters outside the area. The ball described a curve in its trajectory and settled in the upper corner of the goal.

It was only the second shot on goal for Inter in the match.

In injury time, Serbian Adem Ljajic escaped from midfield and reached a filtered pass by Jovetic, before making a low shot on the edge of the area, to seal the second goal.