World Cup winning soccer coach Marcello Lippi on Friday gave Italy's much-maligned referees a much-needed lift.
Lippi was full of praise for the under-fire refs - chiding them only for not being tough enough.
"Technically speaking you're the best in Europe thanks to the way you're trained from the fourth division upwards," the former Azzurri coach told a "group management" session in Rome.
"Italian players, on the other hand, are the worst-behaved in terms of gestures and language.
"So I'm going to give you a piece of advice: adjust your psychological approach to players who come on too strong.
"Be more decisive".
As well as being routinely lambasted by one of the most critical media in Europe, Italy's refereeing community is having to cope with the fall-out from last year's Calciopoli match-fixing scandal, in which some of its most prominent members were caught up.
In the wake of the scandal, pundits suggested that foreign refs should be brought in to officiate Italian league matches.
In the run-up to Italy's triumph in Germany last year, Lippi waged a successful campaign to rid the Azzurri of bad habits like surrounding officials and calling for yellow or red cards after being fouled.
