Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini reacts during the match against Siena in their Italian Series A soccer match at San Siro stadium in Milan, May 11, 2008. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    BEIJING, May 30 -- Inter Milan coach Roberto Mancini has been sacked, the Italian champions said Thursday.

    Media reports have said Jose Mourinho, out of work since leaving Chelsea in September, is poised to take over.

    Mancini's future had been in doubt since Inter's defeat by Liverpool in the last 16 of the Champions League in March, when he said he would quit at the end of the season only to change his mind the next day.

    "FC Internazionale have informed Roberto Mancini that he has been sacked as coach, in particular because of the comments made by the coach at the end of the Inter-Liverpool match," a statement on the club Web site (www.inter.it) said.

    Club president Massimo Moratti held a short meeting with Mancini on Tuesday and after two days of speculation, the club have confirmed his departure.

    Mancini won three consecutive Italian league titles with Inter but this season they almost threw it away, only sealing the scudetto on the final day having let an 11-point lead in February get whittled down to one.

    Several other factors have led to the 43-year-old leaving, with four years left on his contract.

    Relations with the club's medical staff became stretched after Mancini criticised their methods while the coach was also at odds with Moratti after deciding not to play Luis Figo.

    Mancini, who took charge in 2004, had also not spoken to Italian media for several weeks after a number of stories he was unhappy with.

    (Source: Shanghai Daily/Agencies)

Mancini row delays Mourinho's arrival

    BEIJING, May 30 -- Inter Milan still hasn't announced a coaching move, and the likely reason is that Roberto Mancini won't go away lightly.

    Inter owner Massimo Moratti informed Mancini on Tuesday that he was firing him, less than 10 days after Mancini guided the club to its third straight Serie A title. But Mancini's contract with Inter lasts through 2012.

    Mancini rejected the club's initial offer of a 5 million euros (7.8 million U.S. dollars) severance payoff, the Gazzetta dello Sport reported yesterday, adding that the club could raise its offer to 7 million euros. Full story