Massimiliano Irrati, the referee of AC Milan vs Juventus match at the San Siro Stadium, Thursday (7/1/21), cause a high tension. In the eyes of Juventus players, the equalizer goal for AC Milan’s emergency midfielder Davide Calabria should have been disallowed due to an alleged violation against Adrien Rabiot. Irrati, indeed has record of few controversy decisions on the match he led.
Massimiliano Irrati has served in Serie A since 2012. Then in 2017, he became a FIFA referee. Even though he has led Serie A matches for a long time, Irrati was not free from decisions that were considered controversial. Here are three controversial incidents involving Massimiliano Irrati when leading the Serie A.
Patrick Cutrone’s hand goal, AC Milan vs Lazio, 2018
AC Milan managed to beat Lazio with a score of 2-1 in Week 22 of the Italian League 2017-2018 season. However, controversy accompanied this result. Patrick Cutrone’s Milan opener caused controversy as replays showed he used his hands to direct the ball at Lazio’s goal. Cutrone’s action even managed to trick VAR. Referee Massimiliano Irrati also approved the goal.
Cards and injury time penalties, Lazio vs Torino, 2018
Lazio had to settle for a draw with their guest, Torino, in the 19th Serie A 2018-2019. During the first half injury time, Lazio’s goal was breached by Andrea Belotti’s penalty kick. This penalty was protested by the home players because Belotti was considered to be diving.
The match, led by Massimiliano Irrati, was hot with the court taking out a total of eight yellow cards and two red cards. Irrati gave four yellow cards each and one red card for Lazio and Torino. After the match, Simone Inzaghi as Lazio coach said that his team was deliberately prevented from winning.
Handball Matthijs De Ligt, Juventus vs Bologna, 2019
Juventus successfully defeated Bologna with a score of 2-1 in the 8th match of the 2019-2020 Serie A. Two goals from Juventus through the actions of Cristiano Ronaldo and Miralem Pjanic can only be avenged by Bologna through Danilo’s goal.
However, Bologna actually had a chance to equalize at the end of the second half. Andreas Olsen’s bait ball into the Juventus penalty box failed to be cleared by Matthijs de Ligt. In replays, the ball appeared to hit the Dutch defender’s hand. Referee Massimiliano Irrati consulted with VAR, but did not see a replay of the incident. Irrati also decided De Ligt’s handball was not a violation and that Bologna had no penalty.
Back to AC Milan vs Juventus duel, Irrati’s leadership did not get good ratings from a number of Italian media. La Gazzetta dello Sport gave the referee 4.5 out of 10 points, while Tuttosport gave the referee 4. Luckily for Juventus, they were able to end the match against AC Milan with a 3-1 win. Juve’s winning goal contributed by Chiesa (2 goals) and Weston McKennie.
