He doesn’t take the stage, he doesn’t draw attention but the referee Giua, chosen by Rocchi for Palermo-Venice, is proving to be increasingly reliable. Fresh from two excellent performances in Genoa-Turin and Empoli-Monza, the Sardinian whistler however, he slipped in Lecce-Fiorentina and was set aside for a few matches before redeeming himself in Monza-Atalanta and subsequently in Frosinone-Inter. Too fussy about the rules, not very inclined to dialogue and with an easy ticket but also with a great personality, let’s see how Olbia’s race director fared yesterday.
Giua’s precedents with Palermo and Venice
There are eleven precedents for him with the orange-greens, with a balance sheet of five defeats, three victories and three draws. Six crossings with Sicilians for a total of 2 wins, 3 draws and 1 defeat.
The referee booked seven players
Assisted by assistants Meli and Peretti, with Prontera IV man, Aureliano al Var and Paterna al Avarthe referee warned seven players plus the coach Vanoli: 32′ Lucioni, 63′ Bjarkason, 64′ Idzes, 64′ Diakitè, 71′ Candela, 76′ Busio, 77′ Lella.
Palermo-Venice, slow motion cases
These are the dubious episodes. In the 32nd minute, a dubious episode in the Venezia penalty area with Lund being brought down. Nothing accomplished for the match director, VAR does not intervene. At 33′ first yellow card of the evening. Lucioni stops an opponent’s counterattack harshly. In the 38th minute Sverko kicks the ball onto his arm. Referee Giua judges his action to be involuntary and does not award the penalty for Palermo. Protests from Brunori. Twice during the match a portion of the Palermo public disturbed the game with objects thrown near the flag during the Venetians’ jokes. The referee threatens to suspend the match. The race resumes after a few seconds.
In the 64th minute Bjarkason was booked and dramatically held back Diakité. The match gets ugly, a minute later Diakité from Palermo is also booked for a reckless reaction. Idzes of Venezia is also on the list of bad guys for protests. In the 71st minute another yellow: harsh intervention by Candela on Di Mariano who had just entered. In the 76th minute Busio was booked and held back Segre in a dramatic manner. A minute later Lella was also booked. Six yellows in just 12 minutes: a record for the referee. Venezia tries to fall asleep. Cramps for a couple of lagoon players in the 83rd minute. The referee signals that all this lost time will be made up. Brunori exclaims: “We haven’t played since you scored!”. In the 96th minute Dembelè scored the 2-0 with a low shot but Gytkjaer was offside and the goal was disallowed. Palermo-Venice ends 0-1.
