Sarcastic Szczesny aims dig at referee: “Milik sent off like Berardi and Malinovskyi”

Club News

January 28, 2024 - 10:30 am

Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny couldn’t help himself from taking a sly dig at the refereeing following the 1-1 draw against Empoli.

The Bianconeri were forced to play the vast majority of the match with a man down following Arkadiusz Milik’s dismissal.

The striker lost possession, and in his desperate attempt to retrieve it, he went lunging into Alberto Cerri with his studs showing.

Referee Livio Marinelli initially gave him a yellow card, but following a VAR review, he agreed that the challenge warrants a direct red.

Dusan Vlahovic still managed to put Max Allegri’s men in the lead, but his opener was canceled out by Tommasi Baldanzi’s equalizer.

For his part, Szczesny consented that his compatriot indeed deserved his marching orders.

However, the goalkeeper recalled two incidents where challenges committed against his teammates were treated less severely, referring to Domenico Berardi during the 4-2 loss in Sassuolo and Ruslan Malinovskyi (on Kenan Yildiz) in the 1-1 draw against Genoa. Neither opponent was sent off.

“No one has any doubts about Milik’s red card, It deserves an expulsion,” said Szczesny in his post-match interview via Calciomercato.

“It’s the same dynamic as the fouls committed by Berardi and Malinovskyi. All three reds were rightly given,” he noted sarcastically.

Regardless, Juventus must now put the whole debacle to bed and start focusing on what will be a crucial Scudetto showdown against Inter next weekend.

The Bianconeri currently lead the Serie A standings by two points, however, their arch-rivals still have a couple of matches in hand.