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Soccer: Napoli calls off 'ritiro'

After players rebelled after Salzburg draw

Redazione Ansa

(ANSA) - Naples, November 6 - Napoli on Wednesday called off a week-long enforced 'ritiro' training camp after a player rebellion after a 1-1 Champions League draw on Tuesday night.
    The ritiro had been ordered after a defeat to Roma in Serie A at the weekend.
    Sources said it was not wholly clear if the ritiro had been "completely annulled", but at the moment it is certainly suspended.
    The training camp was ordered until next Sunday morning by Chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis.
    But the team rebelled after the Salzburg game, going home rather than to the Castel Volturno camp.
    De Laurentiis ordered the ritiro Monday after Saturday's 2-1 defeat at AS Roma.
    The loss left Napoli seventh in Serie A with 18 points from 11 games, 11 points behind leaders Juventus.
    Italian clubs sometimes use 'ritiri' as a form of punishment for poor form.
    It is an unpopular practice with players, who are not allowed to go home to their families after training.
    De Laurentiis stressed that he was not trying to punish the players, who face Genoa in Serie A on Saturday.
    "Napoli will be on a ritiro until Sunday morning, when some of them will respond to call-ups from the national teams," De Laurentiis told Radio Kiss Kiss Napoli.
    "It is not a punishment but an opportunity to get to know each other better". Coach Carlo Ancelotti told a press conference on Monday that he did not agree with the decision while adding that "we have to accept it".
   

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