The referee from Palermo has not officiated the yellow-reds for over two years following the argument with the Special One.
The yellow-reds lose the crucial challenge against Atalanta 2-1 for a place in the Champions League. The victory goal comes from Sulemana, but the words – and the controversy – stem from…
Post-match, Claudio Ranieri’s comments focused heavily on the contact between Koné and Pasalic. His words are eagerly awaited following the defeat against Atalanta. The referee, Sozza, first awarded and then retracted the penalty after consulting the monitor, following indications from the VAR room. According to the yellow-red coach, this intervention shouldn’t have been possible. However, Rosario Abisso called upon the referee because – Even according to Luca Marelli, it was a nonexistent contact sought by Koné. In that instance, it was José Mourinho who intervened furiously in the post-match exchange: “I spoke with the referee because I believe he made a mistake with the expulsion. If Zaniolo played for Inter, Juventus, or Milan, would they have expelled him? Today he was expelled because he said ‘what the hell’ to Mr. Abisso three times. “You blew the whistle.” He didn’t insult him. He did not tell him to go to hell, he told him three times “what the…”. You didn’t provide a text to translate. “Jeers”. If I am a referee, after a goal celebrated in the 90th minute, the frustration of a disallowed goal, and the footballer comes up to you and says something like this – I show him the yellow card, and it ends there. Do you think that red card, to give an example, would they have given it to Lautaro Martinez at San Siro? Or to Chiellini at the Juventus Stadium? Or to Zlatan at San Siro?