Conte ‘won’t allow’ second De Bruyne complaint | OneFootball

Antonio Conte confirms he ‘won’t allow’ more complaints from Kevin De Bruyne and other Napoli players: ‘Sometimes those who don’t know me make some mistakes.’

De Bruyne made headlines on Sunday as he reacted angrily to being substituted during an away Serie A game at Milan.

Conte spoke about the incident on Tuesday morning, on the eve of a Champions League match against Sporting CP.

Conte comments on De Bruyne substitution again

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 28: Kevin De Bruyne of Napoli

scores a penalty goal during the Serie A match between AC Milan and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

“It’s not a matter of situations involving a specific player,” Conte said.

“Those who know me are well aware of my point of view on management, on certain behaviours that must be maintained. Sometimes those who don’t know me make some mistakes, and it’s up to me to restore the situation and reiterate certain concepts to the whole group. Therefore, the first time you allow it, but the second time you don’t allow it anymore.”

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 28: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli during the Serie A match between AC Milan and SSC Napoli at Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on September 28, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Reports in Italy on Tuesday suggested that Conte had spoken to the whole group on Monday, after a 2-1 loss against the Rossoneri.

According to reports, Conte didn’t directly talk to De Bruyne, but reiterated that he’d not accept similar behaviour again from his players.

Conte had already warned De Bruyne that he had picked the “wrong person” if he was unhappy with the substitution against Milan.

Napoli’s selection crisis against Sporting CP

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 18: Antonio Conte, Head Coach of Napoli, looks on prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester City and SSC Napoli at City of Manchester Stadium on September 18, 2025 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

The Italian tactician also spoke about tomorrow’s game that sees Napoli deal with a selection crisis in defence as Luca Marianucci is not part of the UEFA list, Amir Rrahmani, Mathias Olivera and Leonardo Spinazzola are injured and Giovanni Di Lorenzo is suspended.

“Olivera and Spinazzola trained separately yesterday. We’ll see today,” Conte said.

“We’ll see if we must take some risks because we don’t have many alternatives. One alternative could be Elmas playing as a right-back, but we’ll see if we’ll take some risks with one or both of them.”