Inter Milan have been handed a one-game ban for racist chants that was directed towards AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie. Before his substitution in the second half, the 22-year-old was subjected to racist abuse as the Rossoneri fell to a 3-2 loss against their bitter rivals on Sunday.   On Tuesday, the Italian Football Federation judiciary stated that supporters from the Curva Nord area of the San Siro were heard to have directed racist chants towards Kessie in the seventh and 39th minute of the encounter. Consequently, the FIGC have given Luciano Spalleti's side a one-game stand closure as punishment for the racist abuse but it will only take effect if their fans repeat such behaviour in any fixture. Kessie was replaced by Andrea Conti in the 69th minute, however, his substitution did not go down well as he was involved in a row with Lucas Biglia - a situation that forced both players to apologise to manager Gennaro Gattuso after the game. Early this year, Inter Milan were forced to two games behind closed doors after Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly was racially abused by supporters during a Boxing Day fixture at the San Siro.

Jose Mourinho says he wants to be back in club management by the summer and that he has turned down 'three or four' offers already. The Portuguese, sacked by Manchester United in December, has been out of work since. But the former Chelsea, Real Madrid, Inter and Porto boss is preparing himself for a new challenge. He says he is waiting for a role of right 'dimension' - but, despite being tipped to manage Portugal at some point, ruled out a national team post. Mourinho, 56, told beINSPORTS: "What I have in mind is that I would like to be back in the summer, in June, for a new club, for a new pre-season. "I know exactly what I don't want - that's the reason I've had to say no already to three or four different offers. "And I know what I want in terms of, not a specific club, but the nature of the job, the dimension of the job. I know what I want and I'm going to be waiting for that." Mourinho says he has been using the time since his departure from Old Trafford to be ready for his next position. And he says his desire to be involved in the busy day-to-day challenge of club management is the reason he won't be taking a job coaching a national team. "A national team job is a very specific job - I like daily football, daily work, I like many competitons, I like many matches and I want to stay at football club level," he added. "When you are working every day in football with six press conferences per week, with three matches per week, with pre-match analysed, with post-match analysed, with all the problems you have day by day, sometimes you have no time to take care of yourself and now I'm having this month where I think I'm going to be back even better prepared. "At this moment I am two and half months without work and I am 'working' preparing myself for the next one. "It's not like I am on holiday, it's not like I am bored - I am preparing myself for the next one." Wherever he is in charge next, Mourinho, who has won 19 major trophies as a manager, is sure he will be a success. "Somewhere, I am going to win again," he said.

Mauro Icardi's stand-off with Inter could soon be resolved, according to the Serie A club's general manager Giuseppe Marotta. Icardi has not played since he was stripped of the captaincy in February, as talks over a new contract reportedly broke down. Marotta has since held positive talks with Icardi's wife and agent Wanda Nara, although the Inter striker remains sidelined with a supposed knee injury. But Marotta believes that the situation is close to a resolution, insisting that the decision to hand the captain's armband to Samir Handanovic was not a punishment for Icardi. "I hope the situation can mend itself," Marotta told reporters. "We're a family and parents must make decisions for the sake of their children, but they're not punishments. They're made so the kids can grow and get better. "That's how our decision should be interpreted. I hope we can mend this rift as quickly as possible because Icardi is a good lad who has given a lot to Inter and can still give us so much. "Now he's struggling with a knee problem. We hope it heals as quickly as possible and that he returns to the group after rehabilitation." Icardi's absence was felt by Inter as they went out of the Europa League on Thursday, but Luciano Spalletti's side responded in style by beating rivals AC Milan 3-2 in a thrilling Derby della Madonnina on Sunday, moving them up to third place in Serie A. Nara has suggested that the 26-year-old could soon return, despite ongoing talk suggesting that he is destined to head for the likes of Real Madrid. She has told Tiki Taka: "I talked to Marotta and peace is near. If Mauro meets up with the coach on Friday, they will have to talk to each other. "Mauro is recovering from the knee problem, which is real. "He didn't skip a day and before he always played through pain, to show how much he cares about Inter. As soon as he is able he will come back, there are no problems with the team. "We've reviewed all the players' statements and no one has ever spoken ill of Icardi. They say so many things but people confuse me with my husband, what he thinks is not what I think. He never asked for a raise and not it has never been a question of money."

Mauro Icardi is close to restoring peace with Inter amid his ongoing exile from the squad, his agent and wife, Wanda Nara, has asserted. The Argentine striker has missed the club's last nine matches after being stripped of the captaincy in early February, at a time where rumours swirled that he might leave at the end of the season despite positive talks over a new contract.  And although Inter have won five of those games, including a victory over fierce rivals AC Milan, Luciano Spalletti's team have dropped to fourth in the Italian top-flight and crashed out of the Europa League at the last-16 stage. But the Nerazzurri may have their top scorer back before long, as the 26-year-old's representative believes an amicable solution is on the cards. "I know nothing about the possible meeting on Friday," Nara said on Canal 5 programme Tiki Taka. "I talked to [director Giuseppe] Marotta and peace is near. If Mauro meets up with the coach on Friday, they will have to talk to each other." The official explanation has been that Icardi is being kept out because of a knee injury, while director Giuseppe Marotta has dismissed talk of a dispute between the two parties.  Nara confirmed that Icardi is on the way back to fitness and insists he has a good relationship with all of his Inter team-mates. "Mauro is recovering from the knee problem, which is real," she said. "He didn't skip a day and before he always played through pain, to show how much he cares about Inter. As soon as he is able he will come back, there are no problems with the team. "We've reviewed all the players' statements and no one has ever spoken ill of Icardi. They say so many things but people confuse me with my husband, what he thinks is not what I think. He never asked for a raise and not it has never been a question of money." Inter are in action again on March 31 when they host Lazio, who sit seventh in Serie A.

AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie has apologised to teammate Lucas Biglia after he was replaced in their 3-2 defeat to Inter Milan. Two minutes after Lautaro Martinez's scored Inter's third goal in the 67th minute, Kessie was replaced by Andrea Conti and he did not hide his frustration with Gennaro Gattuso's decision. While walking down to his seat, Biglia made some statements which angered the 22-year-old midfielder before they separated by other teammates. After the encounter, Kessie admitted that his reaction was a mistake and tendered an apology to the 33-year-old.  “It was the adrenaline of the match situation, I was frustrated coming off and really wanted to do more. I took it out on Lucas and it was a mistake, I apologised afterwards,” Kessie told SkySport Italia. “He is older than me and I should learn from him. I’m sorry.” The Argentina international also admitted fault in his statement and the ‘embarrassing scene’ created during Sunday’s game. “Franck knows what I said and we clarified the situation afterwards. We all want to win, but this is not something we should do in front of everyone. Maybe save it for the dressing room," Biglia said. “We above all feel bad for this embarrassing scene, I feel ashamed of it and apologised to the lads and Coach in person. It was not what we wanted, we embarrassed the club we represent and it won’t happen again." Meanwhile, manager Gennaro Gattuso described the altercation as a double defeat and has promised to take actions to punish the duo. "The defeat that hurts me the most was Kessie and seeing what happened on the bench," Gattuso added. "That is something I cannot accept with the way I see football, the way I see the team and the group ethic. “There has to be respect for everyone in the dressing room and it was just unacceptable. I am the coach, I have to take care of discipline in the dressing room and the players know how much I care about that. “You can criticise my tactics, but I built my career on respect, group ethics, representing the jersey, honouring the teammates who haven’t played for months. This means the world to me and that is why it is a double defeat. “I will have my say over the next few days.” Kessie has played in all but two of Milan's Serie A matches this season and he is expected to join Cote d'Ivoire national team ahead of their final 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers against Rwanda on Saturday.