Referee Gianpaolo Calvarese has come in for fierce criticism after a controversial display during Inter’s 3-2 defeat to Juventus in the Derby d’Italia yesterday.
The official awarded Juventus two penalties, including a contentious late one, after previously giving Inter a spot kick, whilst he showed both sides a red card each and disallowed a Lautaro Martinez strike and a Giorgio Chiellini own goal, only to overturn his decision on the latter after a VAR check.
As reported in today’s newspaper edition of Corriere dello Sport, Calvarese soured what ought to have been a big occasion for both clubs, with Inter looking to assert their dominance after winning the Scudetto and Juventus aiming for Champions League qualification.
The Rome-based outlet gave Calvarese a 4.5 in their post-match ratings and suggested that the 45-year-old was in danger of slipping out of the elite list of Serie A referees.
He was criticised for an unnecessarily long pause in play after only 15 minutes to caution Dejan Kulusevski, setting the tone for the match, whilst his decision to award the late penalty was also called out.
Calvarese was also blasted for showing Juventus midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur a second yellow break shortly after half time, with it viewed as an act of balancing up earlier decisions.