Italian journalist Ivan Zazzaroni believes that Lazio defender Luiz Felipe was unfortunate to receive a red card for his misguided joking gesture with Inter’s Joaquin Correa after Saturday’s Serie A clash at the Stadio Olimpico.
Writing in his column for today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, Zazzaroni gave the view that the gesture was intended to be harmless and should not have warranted a post-match sending off, while he also suggested that Inter players Denzel Dumfries and Lautaro Martinez should have been punished for their clashes with Lazio players.
The match took a turn towards the bad-tempered after the Biancocelesti’s second goal, with Inter players visibly upset with the fact that the ball had not been put out of play while Federico Dimarco was on the ground.
Several yellow cards were handed out to both sides in the aftermath as Inter players confronted their opponents, but no suspensions came of the conflict.
The rest of the match proved to be fractious, and the post-match atmosphere remained in a similar vein, at which point Felipe decided to approach his friend and former teammate Correa to jump on his back as though celebrating.
After the match the Brazilian defender explained that he had meant to cheer Correa up and not to cause any insult, and Zazzaroni believes that on this basis it was harsh to send him off.
“Paradoxical, the red after the end of the match shown to Luis Felipe for an affectionate and foolish gesture but clearly not offensive towards Correa who until three months earlier had been his teammate and with whom he often went out,” he writes.
“Moreover,” he writes. “Irrati did not show cards to punish Dumfries or Lautaro for their involvement in the fight.”
