Maurizio Sarri directs rage at Celtic as Lazio boss left 'ferociously p***** off' ahead of Champions League showdown

Lazio boss Maurizio Sarri is out to take his anger out on Celtic after being left "ferociously p***** off" by UEFA - accusing governing bodies of sending his players to the "slaughterhouse."

The Rome giants travel to Glasgow this week for a Champions League showdown looking to build on a last-gasp draw secured against Atletico Madrid on opening day. It's the penultimate game of a gruelling run that has seen them play five games in the last two weeks with two more to come in the next seven days. The fatigue is showing signs of taking hold too after they fell to a 2-0 defeat to AC Milan at San Siro over the weekend, already their fourth Serie A defeat of the season.

And the veteran former Napoli, Juventus and Chelsea boss is deeply unhappy at his side's schedule ahead of their visit to Scotland. He blasted: "I am ferociously p***** off at UEFA, FIFA and Serie A and all this gang for this crazy calendar.

"They are sending these guys to the slaughterhouse without anyone intervening. Football is like this these days...take the money and run. But actually, now there is less of it and it is only going to maybe 30, 40, 50 players.

"In all my years in football, I have never seen a schedule like this. They have made us have three away games in a row at Napoli, Juventus and AC Milan. This is why we are struggling.

"I don't know what our aim is in Europe - the only thing we can do is try to get out of the group. But the Champions League is a luxury for us. Serie A is our main priority. We are not a great team. But we have had about 50 muscle injuries this season. We have to play every three days and then the players go and play in international breaks.

"I hope FIFA, UEFA and Serie A accept responsibility for this. I am completely