There were several very controversial situations during Milan’s Serie A trip to Empoli, as while Liberato Cacace risked a straight red for the foul on Kyle Walker, VAR was not allowed to rescue Fikayo Tomori from dismissal.
See how the game unfolds on the Liveblog.
The first incident occurred just a few minutes into the match at the Stadio Castellani, when Cacace and Walker were both at full stretch to reach the loose ball when they connected heavily.
While the still image does make it look horrific from Cacace, catching Walker studs-up on the side of the shin, VAR decided not to intervene following a long evaluation.
DAZN refereeing expert Luca Marelli gave his verdict on the situation and agreed that while Cacace should’ve received a yellow card and it was “at the limit,” this did not warrant a red card.
This is because there was no real ‘run-up’ to the tackle, making it less dangerous, and Walker’s leg was also low down on the ground to make the challenge less ‘high’ up the leg.
Plenty for refereeing pundits to parse in Empoli vs. Milan
However, there was an even more controversial situation on 55 minutes when Tomori received a second yellow card for bringing down Lorenzo Colombo.
The Milan defender would’ve been rescued by the offside flag, but the linesman did not raise it and VAR was not allowed to intervene because the protocol forbids them from getting involved with yellow card offences.
If a penalty had been awarded and there was an offside in the build-up, then VAR could’ve stepped in, but not for a booking.
Fuorigioco di #Colombo ? Ecco perché il VAR non può togliere il secondo giallo di #Tomori #Pairetto #EmpoliMilan https://t.co/EZNPgpq9IE pic.twitter.com/Du89jUkh7u
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) February 8, 2025
VAR did intervene 10 minutes later to show that Luca Marianucci reacted to a Santiago Gimenez push by looking over his shoulder, flicking up a boot and intentionally catching the striker in the crotch.
Gimenez was booked for the provocation and Marianucci shown a straight red card for the reaction foul.
Pairetto, the linesmen and VAR officials all need to be banned for at least 1 match week. From the 1st minute it was nothing short of shambles. Almost difficult to talk about the result. the officiating was not even Sunday league level.
I agree Rosario
i am an amateut referee and can attest to the fact that the tackle on Walker is a dangerous tackle and any tackke of such is a straight red.
Tomori’s redcard was suppose to be reversed fir offside. Abraham was fouled cos there was contact. Gimenez was also fouled..i could go on and on. demote them all to serie c
@rosario it’s Serie A, well Italian football where controversies have been part of it since it was founded, mate. Nothing we can do about it sadly.
Omar
Your generalising and stereotyping BS is always ‘welcomed’ instead of trying to offer something relevant regarding the actual game, and decisions.
Pele80
It is also important to mention the Marianucci 2nd yellow 😂 Gimenez apparently fouls him first and yet Marianucci gets a 2nd yellow for what exactly? He didn’t do anything 🤦🏻♂️ The gyasi foul on Theo was also a pen.
I don’t know why they changed the rules to have the linesmen wait to raise the offside flag. Leads to idiotic situations like this… Tomori should have never been given that red because the play was offside from the get go. But also Tomori is prone to idiotic and rash challenges like this.
ACM1899. Colombo is not offside. Kyle W is keeping him 0nside.
Tomori’s second is hard to overturn and it’s all his fault. Offside doesn’t mean u can make a dangerous foul. To make it clear, if he studded on the opponent’s shin and was given a straight red, should it be revoked if it’s offside?
Dear wise guys:
Read the article : it pretty much explains it all straight forward and what ruleset VAR HAS to follow.
Marianucci kicked out at Gimenez when he was on the floor. The ref was fine. Both red cards were correct, but Cacace should have been sent off for the foul on Walker.