Venezia coach Eusebio Di Francesco feels that a draw would have been a fair result for his team against Inter Milan.
The coach spoke to Italian broadcaster DAZN after the Serie A match, via FCInterNews. He fumed, arguing that his team’s late equalizer should not have been disallowed.
For a moment, Venezia thought that they’d grabbed a dramatic equalizer against Inter.
The Lagunari never stopped fighting for a result, knowing that every point can be precious in the relegation scrap.
And Inter gave Venezia reason to hope. They failed to kill off the match, as the scoreline remained 1-0 into seven minutes of stoppage time.
It was Venezia substitute Marin Sverko who met a cross to bundle it across the line deep into stoppage time.
This was a bitter moment for Inter, although one that they will undoubtedly have felt they had themselves to blame for after failing to put the game to bed.
However, Venezia’s joy was short-lived. And for Inter, it was a sigh of relief.
Referee Maria Sole Ferrieri Caputi, along with her VAR, disallowed Marin’s goal.
There had always looked to be a hint of a foul in the action, as the Venezia wingback climbed all over Inter defender Yann Bisseck in order to get to the ball and put it over the line.
Moreover, in addition to the push on Bisseck, replays showed that Sverko had in fact controlled the ball with his wrist.
Venezia Coach Eusebio Di Francesco Fumes After Inter Clash: “Draw Would’ve Been A Fair Result”
For his part, however, Venezia coach Di Francesco was not convinced that the decision to disallow his team’s last gasp equalizer was the right one.
“To me, the refereeing favoured the other side,” the Venezia coach said bitterly.
“To me, the foul on the goal hardly seems like an obvious one,” he argued.
Di Francesco then said that “I want to congratulate my team, who did take risks, but from what we saw, a draw would have been the right ending for the match.”
“The guys tried to cause problems for Inter right until the end,” the Venezia coach said of his team’s performance.
“We’ll keep the excellent match that we played,” he added. “But it’s a shame about the result.”
Di Francesco then said that “Inter’s greatest quality is in transition.”
“It’s not enough to just close them down. They can hurt you when you try and play a match like we did, trying to push into their half of the pitch.”
“It was a combination of things we could’ve done better,” Di Francesco added.
“We were too timid in the first half. But then our management of it was much better from the start of the second half.”