Former Serie A referee Luca Marelli feels that referee Simone Sozza did a very good job in charge of Inter’s Serie A clash with Roma yesterday evening.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster DAZN, Marelli praised Sozza’s performance highly and even suggested that the young official could become the top referee in Italy within a few years with displays like that.
Sozza’s appointment for the massive match between the Nerazzurri and the Giallorossi had been a talking point before the match, given that the young referee is from Milan and this was seen as something which could bias his decisions.
However, by general consensus Sozza got all the major decisions spot-on and furthermore used his authority and demeanour to keep the match going at a good pace.
The focus was kept on the action on the pitch rather than on officiating controversies as has been the case too often in Serie A this season, and Marelli feels that Sozza deserves major credit.
“Designating a referee born in Milan and residing 30 km from Milan was a very courageous choice by Gianluca Rocchi,” he said.
“But it must be remembered that Graziano Cesari was born in Parma and has refereed matches involving Parma many times, or look at Stefano Farina, born in Genoa, who has often found himself assigned with Genoa or Sampdoria,” he continued.
“But this choice implies the desire to break certain patterns,” he continued. “Sozza refereed very well, obviously something will be invented to criticize, but I think he has everything to become number one over the next few years.”
