Fiorentina coach gets caught playing ball

Sousa was sent off in the closing minutes at the Luigi Ferraris when he kicked the ball as it was going out of play, sparking protests from Genoa players and their coach Gianpiero Gasperini.

Speaking to Sky Sport about his expulsion, Sousa admitted: "I shouldn't have done it, obviously there are rules to be followed."

But he joked: "I tried to get to the ball before everyone, even myself! But it was an honest mistake."

Sousa laughed off the incident, but looking at the Serie A table will not make for pleasant reading.

Sousa, a former midfielder who played with Inter Milan, has steered Fiorentina into title contention but Sunday's stalemate was the first time in 19 games the Florence-based high-flyers had failed to score in the league.

Fiorentina remain in third place but are now eight points behind leaders Napoli, six behind champions Juventus and will be overtaken by Inter Milan if the Nerazzurri win the Milan derby later Sunday at the San Siro.

Sousa added: "Genoa made life difficult for us in the opening half. They were man marking us and we struggled to get our usual game together."

Fiorentina goals machine Nikola Kalinic was dropped in favour of Mauro Zarate, who signed for the club last week but failed to break the deadlock.

Sousa said Kalinic's feat of scoring 10 goals in the opening half of the season had left left him fatigued.

"He needs time to recover his full fitness," said the Portuguese coach, who all but admitted his search for a new defender is unlikely to be fulfilled ahead of Monday's transfer deadline.

"I remain positive because football is my life. We just have to keep working with the players that we do have to try and improve and be competitive."