Ranieri: Roma referee against Porto an ‘enfant prodige’, Dovbyk ‘improving’

epa11820671 Roma’s coach Claudio Ranieri reacts prior to the Italian Serie A soccer match Bologna FC vs AS Roma at Renato Dall’Ara stadium in Bologna, Italy, 12 January 2025. EPA-EFE/SERENA CAMPANINI

Roma coach Claudio Ranieri says referee François Letexier is a French ‘enfant prodige’ and provides positive updates on Artem Dovbyk: ‘He’s improving.’

The Giallorossi will face Porto tomorrow in the second leg of the Europa League knockout playoff. Last week, the Giallorossi drew 1-1 away in Portugal.

The Italian tactician was fuming after last week’s game in Portugal and blamed UEFA refereeing chief Roberto Rosetti for appointing Tobias Stieler as the match’s official.

According to reports, Roma sent a formal complaint to UEFA after the match, but Ranieri refused to provide further comments during a pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“I’m not interested in these things outside of football. The referee is a French enfant prodige; he officiated the European Championship Final and has refereed me twice in Ligue 1,” he said via Forzaroma.info.

Ranieri: Roma referee against Porto an ‘enfant prodige’, Dovbyk ‘improving’

“He is an excellent referee, very skilled. I’ve played around 1,200 matches and 90 in UEFA competitions, and I’ve never said anything about referees. I’m always fine with everything. I know that referees have a very difficult job.”

Ranieri will rely on a full squad tomorrow, except the suspended Bryan Cristante and those not included in the UEFA list.

“So far, I have recovered all the players. Tomorrow, I will decide who to field,” said Ranieri.

“Dovbyk is improving and has to work a lot because he is our reference point, our goal scorer. We are struggling to get him the right ball. It’s a process that needs to be improved. We must refine the imperfections.

“I see Hummels doing well. His movement is more elegant and explosive. He has also recovered,” continued the Roma boss.

“As I always say, tonight I will analyze the entire mini-week and then decide who can do well in that role. Soulé impressed me a lot in the match against Napoli, and he could also be the chosen one.”

Ranieri warned his players about tomorrow’s opponents.

“I keep my guard up against any opponent. Nothing is written in stone,” he said.

“Normally, does the stronger team win? No, Porto is a great team. We are going to face a good, young squad with a very high technical level.

“The team is doing well, and I am happy that they have followed me from day one. In the first-leg match, I was satisfied with everything. A great performance both with 11 and with 10 men.”

Roma have been conceding quite a few goals from set pieces, and Ranieri admitted that he and his players are working to solve this issue.

“We work a lot on that. Sometimes, there is a certain randomness. Mistakes happen,” he admitted.

“Aside from the goal, we did very well against Porto, a team that always plays very vertically. Sometimes, there are phases when you concede goals in certain situations. Tomorrow, we must be careful about their technique and speed. We need to be very alert.”