Inter were left feeling justifiably frustrated at the performance of referee Fabio Maresca in their goalless draw against Udinese on Saturday, Italian media claim.
As reported in today’s newspaper edition of Corriere della Sera, the referee was hampered by an early decision not to show Zebrette midfielder Tolgay Arslan a second yellow card for a foul on Romelu Lukaku which would have left Udinese with 10 men for more than an hour.
“A poor match that saw the Nerazzurri blocked out by Udinese and hurt by a big mistake by Maresca in not sending Arslan off, which weighed heavily for the remainder of the game,” the newspaper claimed.
Similarly, Maresca was accused of escalating tensions at the Dacia Arena after engaging in a bitter argument with Inter coach Antonio Conte after sending him off in stoppage time.
Conte had questioned the decision to only award four minutes of additional time, before claiming that Maresca always cost Inter dearly, in reference to the official’s decision not to award a penalty to Ivan Perisic during the Nerazzurri’s draw with Parma in October.
“It was Maresca who stoked the atmosphere amongst the Inter staff when he told them that they don’t know how to accept not winning, provoking Conte,” Corriere della Sera continued.
Following his dismissal, Conte will serve a touchline ban for Inter’s Serie A clash against Benevento at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza next weekend.