One episode above all to mark the turning point of the match, but above all a performance that left something to be desired in general management and in the use of cards. Indeed not an afternoon to remember for Matteo Marcenarothe referee designated for the match between Cagliari And Lecce ended with a score of 1-1. Also starring VAR Rosario Abisso and the AVAR Marco Piccinini, with the key decision that saw them intervene in the front row.
Rossoblù abyss
We start immediately with a warning, after thirty seconds Gendrey enters late on Luvumbo risking an immediate warning. It’s right not to sanction the Lecce defender, but at the same time the choice marks a very specific measure in the use of cards. In the 14th minute the yellow for Piccoli was inevitable, the guests’ striker went wide on Mina, earning him a disciplinary sanction. In the 16th minute Cagliari took the lead with a shot from outside the area by Deiola deflected by Nández. The goal was annulled shortly afterwards with the so-called overrule by the VAR which signaled the touch of the hand by the San Vignano midfielder before the conclusion. Impeccable decision regardless of whether the touch was voluntary or not: the hand of the attacker who then scores is always to be punished automatically and does not require any On Field Review by the race director. Just as Nández’s deviation does not cure the irregularity, as it is not a play. In the 25th minute, however, Mina’s goal is regular and, following Gaetano’s shot, she is in a regular position. In the 33rd minute Augello took a big risk when he committed a foul on Gendrey on the edge of the area. After the silent check between Marcenaro and Abisso, the position outside the sixteen meters is confirmed, the full-back is saved by a matter of centimeters. In the 36th minute there could be a second yellow against Piccoli, not so much for the intervention itself – which doesn’t even appear to be a foul – but because if whistled it would have led to an automatic yellow card. Marcenaro flies over, pardoning the Lecce striker. At 42′ the key episode of the Unipol Domus match. Gaetano he enters late on Ramadani at mid-court: high leg, speed not high but still relevant, exposed studs that graze the opponent’s shin. An intervention which, if sanctioned with an expulsion on the pitch, would probably not have led to any discussion. The warning from the whistleblower of the Genoa section provokes a review by the VAR Abisso which ends with the match director being called to the video, invited to view the possibility of a change of sanction from yellow to red card. A change that takes place promptly, not considering Gaetano’s attempt to stop the impact by bending his leg at the last moment as relevant. A borderline decision, not so much for the logic itself – the entry of the rossoblù player is actually very close to the serious foul play, and therefore to the expulsion – but for the call by Abisso to the On Field Review. The impact is not “complete” on Ramadani’s leg which is grazed laterally by mere luck, the bent leg transforms the entry into less violent than it could have been. Having noted these aspects, the red card is supportable as is the warning by the VAR, but some doubts still remain. Ranieri was also warned on the occasion, guilty of having got too close to the video at the time of the review, an attempt prohibited by the regulations. From this moment on Marcenaro becomes confused and seems to let the race slip into his hands. Demonstrating this is the lack of a textbook yellow card against Ramadani in the 45th minute of the first half after a vigorous stomp on Nández, as well as the group that was struggled to quell with the Uruguayan and Pongracic again as protagonists shortly after.
Yellow Festival
The recovery, if possible, sees an even more confusing direction for the whistle born in ’92. In the 51st minute Luvumbo protests for a tackle against him in the Lecce area and, from the replay, the push with his shoulder on his back by Pongracic against him appears quite clear. The decision not to award the penalty is supportable, which is why VAR does not intervene and does not recall Marcenaro, but the defender really risks a lot and the assignment of the maximum punishment in favor of Cagliari would not have been lese majesté. In the 54th minute yellow for Sansone, corrected, for an elbow against Deiola: imprudent intervention and it was correct to penalize him with the card. Two minutes later, Ramadani also gets a yellow card as he overwhelms Sulemana on the short side of the Giallorossi area. However, the card arrived too late and after the Lecce midfielder would have deserved a warning at the end of the first half. In the 64th minute, Marcenaro’s decision to book Scuffet for wasting time was out of place. First of all, because the Cagliari goalkeeper had already begun the process of referral, and also because there was no verbal warning which normally precedes a sanction of this type. In the 74th minute, another error from the Ligurian whistle which did not warn Sansone despite the Giallorossi pushing Mina under his eyes. On the contrary, he shows the card for mutual misconduct to both Baschirotto and Nández. Three minutes later the mystery festival of the second half continues, it is Augello who is punished for the delay in leaving the pitch at the time of the substitution: he is warned and will miss the match at San Siro against Milan. Same fate as that of Deiola who was rightly booked in the 78th minute for a late challenge on Blin. A few seconds later Azzi took a huge risk when he crashed into Almqvist in the Cagliari penalty area: Marcenaro let it go, the VAR didn’t call him back, but it wouldn’t have been a mistake to whistle for the former Modena player’s intervention. In the 84th minute Krstovic equalised, kept in play by Nández at the time of Almqvist’s cross shot. Finally, the six minutes of injury time, too little after the many losses of time between cramps and delays on the part of the home team. An extra minute would have been more faithful to the time played in the second half.
Matteo Zizola
