Adrien Rabiot Criticizes Referee Decisions Following Milan’s Win Over Genoa
Adrien Rabiot has expressed his displeasure with referee decisions after Milan’s recent 2-1 win over Genoa. He stated, “Mistakes happen, but lying continually won’t help you progress. Italian football suffers the consequences.”
Milan secured their victory at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris, thanks to early goals from Alphadjo Cisse and Christian Pulisic. However, the team was dissatisfied with the match’s officiating as Rabiot received a yellow card for dissent, and some staff members from Ruben Amorim’s bench were shown red cards after a 50th-minute incident.
Rabiot’s Outrage Over Referee Calls
During the match, Rabiot was involved in a contentious moment where he was brought down by defender Alessandro Marcandalli. Milan believed this warranted a red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO). However, only a yellow card was given to Marcandalli, earning Rabiot the same punishment for his protests.
VAR reviewed the incident but upheld the decision. Former referee Gianpaolo Calvarese later explained his reasoning on Instagram, reiterating that the call was correct. He pointed out that for a DOGSO offense, specific criteria must be met, which he believed were not satisfied in this case.
Calvarese stated, “Rabiot’s chance was a scoring opportunity, but the rules state that in order for it to qualify as DOGSO, there have to be four parameters met.” He assessed that in this situation, since the foul occurred about 60 meters from the goal and near the touchline, only a yellow card was justified.
Despite the explanations, Rabiot remained frustrated and commented on Calvarese’s Instagram post, warning that while mistakes can happen, continual dishonesty will hinder progress in Italian football. He concluded, “Think about it. Bonne soirée.”
