Referee Maurizio Mariani was the centre of attention last night in Inter’s 1-0 victory over Udinese with some of his decisions being criticised by Milano based newspaper la Gazzetta dello Sport.
The report details how Mariani had three key moments through the game at the San Siro, starting with the decision to book Nicolo Barella following his reckless challenge on Rodrigo De Paul.
Whilst some thought a red card would be more appropriate, Barella managed to remain on the pitch until half-time, when he was substituted for Roberto Gagliardini.
The second key decision in last night’s game was the referee’s decision to send off Rodrigo De Paul following a short argument with Inter forward Antonio Candreva, which ended with the Udinese winger slapping the Inter man across the head.
Finally, Mariani was criticised for his decision to stop the game whilst Inter were searching for their second goal in extra time after an Udinese player was on the ground injured, although it was a minor back injury.
Despite rule changes that suggest that play should go on unless it’s a head injury, Mariani nullified the Nerazzurri’s attack in order to suspend play.
