Coach Carlo Ancelloti has revealed Napoli tried to get their Serie A match against Inter suspended because of racist chants at defender Kalidou Koulibaily.

In the closing stages, Koulibaily was sent off for sarcastically applauding the referee after a caution.

Speaking after the match, Ancelloti said Napoli had called for actions in response to alleged taunts directed at Senegal international Koulibaly and that in future, his players would leave the field.

“It’s a shame because twice we asked for the match to be suspended for the racist chanting towards Koulibaly,” Ancelotti told the club’s official website.

“It shook him – he’s a good-mannered player and he was bombarded by the stadium. Despite our requests and the chanting, the game wasn’t suspended. I think it should have been. Next time we’ll stop playing ourselves.

“It was impossible for him to be calm – he cares a lot about the issue of racism and he commits a lot of time to the matter, including in society. What happened today is unacceptable – not just for us but for Italian football as a whole.”

Koulibaly posted a message on his personal Twitter account following the match.

He said: “I’m sorry for the defeat and above all to have left my brothers! But I’m proud of the colour of my skin. To be French, Senegalese, Neapolitan: man.”

MySportDab report Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne was also shown a red card after tussling with Inter substitute Keita in an off-the-ball incident.

“The red card determined the result,” Ancelotti added. “We were pushing towards the end but we were affected bygoing down to ten men.

“We could have scored in the last minute and therefore could have won the game anyway.

“Now we need to think ahead to Wednesday’s match, where we can round off the year positively. Tonight’s result doesn’t change anything as regards our targets.”