After the Champions League clash between Milan vs. Atletico Madrid, La Gazzetta dello Sport highlights the 18 defeats and previous controversy for Italian teams with Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir at the whistle.
The Turkish referee has been criticised by the media and the pundits after the Champions League match at San Siro on Tuesday.
Fabio Capello claimed Cakir ‘ruined the match’ and some Rossoneri players reacted with fury on social media.
Cakir has been in charge of 32 games involving Italian clubs and national teams, with 18 of them ending in defeat for the Italians.
Franck Kessie was sent off in the first half against Atleti, before Luis Suarez turned the game around from the penalty spot in stoppages.
The handball decision was discussed after the match and Capello felt the Turkish referee didn’t get any help from VAR.
La Gazzetta dello Sport are not showing any mercy when they dig into the stories of the past with Cakir, looking for controversy in the 18 defeats, starting with the national side.
The Azzurri lost 1-0 to Sweden on November 10, 2017, in the first leg of the decisive play-off for the World Cup 2018.
Cakir was at the whistle and the newspaper claims Ola Toivonen should have been sent off.
The FIGC President Carlo Tavecchio complained about the referee after the match, claiming Cakir ‘booked the wrong players’.
The newspaper moves on the clubs in question, with Napoli having difficulties with the Turkish referee.
Cakir has been in charge of seven Partenopei games and the last one came in August 2020, in the last 16 against Barcelona, when a push by Lenglet on Diego Demme helped the Blaugrana score the 1-0 goal, with the match eventually finishing 3-1 for the Catalans.
The report also points at the Azzurri’s qualifier for the Champions League against Athletic Bilbao in 2014-15, when the Spanish side advanced with a 3-1 home win.
The witch hunt continues with Juventus in the 2015 Final between Juventus and Barcelona, as La Gazzetta dello Sport underlines an ‘obvious foul’ by Dani Alves on Paul Pogba.
The newspaper claims it should have been a penalty for Juventus at 1-1, when the Blaugrana picked up the trophy with a 3-1 win, scoring their third goal after 97 minutes.
With Cakir at the whistle, Roma suffered a 3-1 defeat to FC Porto in the last 16 of the Champions League in 2018-19, when Patrik Schick deserved a penalty. The Giallorossi lost 4-3 on aggregate and exited the competition after the 2-1 win at the Olimpico.
Inter have struggled with the Turkish referee too, as the Nerazzurri have lost three out of three in the Champions League.
The newspaper reveals Werder Bremen, Marseille and Tottenham Hotspur have triumphed against the Beneamata in 2012 and 2018 but fails to find any controversial decisions in this case.
Italia 3-0 Turkey @ EURO’20…..
@tsobhung that was a match so lopsided that not even Cakir could help the turks
Had no memory of him. I’ll remember the name after that shocking display though.