Former Serie A and FIFA referee Graziano Cesari has hit out at English referee Anthony Taylor for his performance in yesterday’s UEFA Champions League group stage match between Inter and Real Madrid.
Inter lost the match to Los Blancos 2-0 and it has left their chances of qualification to the next round of the competition in tatters but had some decisions went differently, things could well have turned out differently for Antonio Conte’s side.
“Taylor is a very experienced referee but I did not like the attitude he showed,” Cesari explained in an interview with Italian broadcaster Italia 1 following the match last night at San Siro.
Cesari then went on to discuss whether Inter should have been given a penalty when Inter central midfielder Arturo Vidal went to ground in Real Madrid’s box.
“The Frenchman was very good at moving the ball away from the Chilean, even touching Vidal’s foot. There is no justification for the Chilean’s protests, but here the referee could have done much better. An expert like him could have taken 10 metres back and not sent him off.
Cesari, who refereed in Serie A between 1990 and 2002, proceeded to dissect Taylor’s decision to not award Inter a penalty when Real Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez collided with Inter midfielder Roberto Gagliardini.
“Here there are no justifications for Taylor, whose position was perfect. The Real Madrid player completely abandons the trajectory of the ball and Gagliardini.
“Taylor made a mistake and Attwell who was in charge of VAR made a mistake. This was decisive episode when the score was 1-0.”
