Italy forward Graziano Pelle has claimed that referee Martin Atkinson should have stopped play after disallowing a goal for his side in their 1-1 draw with Croatia on Friday evening.

The Azzurri thought that they had taken the lead when Stephan El Shaarawy tapped in from close range, but the goal was controversially ruled out for offside.

While Italy protested the decision, Croatia broke quickly and Mario Mandzukic scored to put his team ahead.

Antonio Candreva scored a penalty to level the scores and ensure that the points were shared, but Pelle has not held back in his criticism of the match officials, who he felt should have shown more "common sense".

"It wasn't easy at the start, but we got the hang of them pretty quickly and could've won the game," he told Rai Sport. "In all honesty, tonight we were at the very least on a par with Croatia. In fact, we had more chances than they did and their goal was strange.

"At the end of the day they can play like that, but if I had been the referee then I would've stopped play.

"The linesman lifted his flag very late while we were already celebrating. The referee should have shown more common sense."

Italy are currently second in their qualifying group for Euro 2016, two points behind leaders Croatia.