Inter's Mourinho blasts rivals after penalty row

ROME: Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho courted controversy again on Tuesday when he returned fire on his Serie A rivals in a row over a contested penalty in Sunday's 3-3 draw with AS Roma.

Polemics have been flying since 18-year-old striker Mario Balotelli, who scored twice, helped league leaders Inter come back from 3-1 down by converting a penalty after going down in the area.

Roma coach Luciano Spalletti and midfielder Daniele De Rossi said after the match that Balotelli had dived and Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri, whose team trail Inter by seven points in second place, sided with them on a television show.