Marco Ianni: Taunting Mourinho to Allegri – What happened vs. Man United and Milan?

Lazio assistant head coach Marco Ianni landed himself in trouble with the officials after a touchline row with Milan boss Massimiliano Allegri in Serie A on Saturday, but who is the Biancocelesti tactician, and what happened when he got in trouble for taunting Jose Mourinho and Manchester United in 2018? 

Ianni is a 43-year-old member of Lazio’s coaching staff, and has been serving as assistant to Maurizio Sarri since the start of the 2025-26 season. He has worked with Sarri for the last nine years, beginning at Napoli in 2016, and followed him to Chelsea, Juventus and Lazio. 

Ianni was involved in a touchline incident in second-half stoppage time during Lazio’s 1-0 loss against Milan on Saturday evening. 

There were big arguments on the touchline when Lazio, who were 1-0 down at the time, felt they should have been awarded a penalty for a Strahinja Pavlovic handball in the area to equalise with one of the last kicks of the game. 

The on-field decision was no penalty, but VAR called referee Giuseppe Collu over to the screen for a review, despite the original decision to not give a penalty being the right call. Milan were awarded a free-kick for an apparent foul in the build-up by Alessio Romagnoli, but it has been proved that this was also an incorrect call, and that the right decision would have been to award a Lazio corner. 

Meanwhile, on the touchline, Milan head coach Massimiliano Allegri was shown a red card for his protests towards the officials. It was confirmed on Tuesday that he will be suspended for his side’s Serie A match against Torino on Monday, and that he will have to pay a fine of €10,000. 

Ianni was also sent off during the incident and has also been handed a one-match ban and a fine of €5,000 for squaring up face-to-face with Allegri during the touchline squabble. 

This is not the first time that Ianni has landed himself in trouble for his antics on the touchline, however. 

Back in 2018, when he and Sarri were employed by Chelesa, Ianni was also in the centre of a big touchline row with then-Manchester United head coach, Mourinho. 

A game that ended 2-2 at Stamford Bridge, Ianni leapt out of the technical area after a 96th-minute equaliser from Ross Barkley and proceeded to pump his fists and gesticulate right in front of the Manchester United dugout. 

This caused Mourinho to jump out of his seat and confront Ianni, and it required intervention from security staff to separate the two. 

Sarri was later forced to come out and apologise on behalf of Chelsea and his staff for their touchline conduct: “I have spoken with the member of my staff and then I bring him to speak with Mourinho to say sorry to him. I think it is finished. We made a mistake. We were in the wrong,” he said after the incident (via the Guardian).