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Rafa Benitez suspension could put extension at risk

Neither Rafa Benitez nor Aurelio De Laurentiis are amused about the manager's suspension, and it could affect whether or not he signs his contract extension.

Dino Panato/Getty Images

We found out yesterday that Napoli manager Rafa Benitez will be banned from the touchline on Monday against Cesena because of his post-match rage after the Parma draw. It's not hard to imagine that he's rather upset about it, and team owner Aurelio De Laurentiis seems rather displeased as well.

Now that suspension could have an unforeseen consequence: it could spell the end of Rafa Benitez at Napoli.

The Spaniard was reportedly furious over being singled out for punishment for the post-match fracas, with only Gonzalo Higuain's fine standing as any other hardship handed out by the Lega Serie A disciplinary committee. Benitez, who was heard screaming "this is the ****ty thing about Italian football" among other things, doesn't like that a number of chants that were antagonistic at best towards Napoli fans.

Apparently Benitez is so mad that he might walk away from the contract extension sitting on the table. He's never exactly been the biggest fan of the way Italian football works, that's been patently obvious from the start, but this might be the straw that broke the camel's back. Maybe once he has a chance to move past this and calm down he'll reconsider, but for right now, it looks once more like he could leave come the end of the season.