Gian Piero Gasperini refused to speak to the media, so Atalanta director Umberto Marino worried ‘the ghosts of last season are reappearing’ after the controversial red cards against Sassuolo.
The game was decided by a powerful bending strike off Armand Laurienté’s right foot when he cut in from the left flank, swerving into the far bottom corner.
However, inevitably the turning point in this encounter was at the 30th minute when Joakim Maehle was at first booked for the foul on Domenico Berardi, then the referee changed his decision to a straight red card following an on-field review.
It was a very controversial call, as Maehle clearly connected with the ball first, which then squirmed off his boot, catching Berardi on the follow-through.
To make matters worse, Luis Muriel was sent off for dissent in stoppages, so he too will be suspended against Lazio.
Gasperini did not speak to the media afterwards, as instead Atalanta sent director Marino to Sky Sport Italia.
“At this moment, the climate is certainly not calm. We saw the ghosts of last season, when we had 12-13 incidents in the second half of the season that influenced our run towards Europe. We were right, nobody told us at the time whether it was right or not, but they proved to be decisive.
“I think things were improving this season with the referees, realising the tackle has its place in football. This felt like two steps backwards. In general, there were too many yellow cards, too many stoppages.”
There are often meetings between the clubs and referees in which the officials outline the general guidelines and ways they intend to interpret situations.
“We talked only two weeks ago about this and our coach said that football is dynamic and needs to be supported. There was a similar situation shown on the video, where a Spezia player I think went sliding in on a Roma player. That was all about whether it was a foul or not a foul. Here, the referee judged it in front of him and the VAR called him over for no reason.”
The greatest frustration is with the VAR, Luigi Nasca, who called Marcenaro over to the monitor for an on-field review when the referee had evaluated the incident from close up.
“You cannot call that a clear and obvious error. Our anger is because there is a past to this, the 2021-22 season damaged us badly, and we saw similar situations today. We would like to continue the approach to refereeing that was in the first half of this season. We have always criticised the penalties and cards awarded for tiny touches, slight grazes, etc.
“Referees can make mistakes, but I would like the general approach to be confirmed.”
Ironically, it was also Marcenaro who was the referee when these teams last faced off in Serie A and there were few complaints in Atalanta’s 2-1 win.
“That game moved really smoothly with very few stoppages. Clearly, something has changed in the approach.”
Marino and Gasperini were both very critical of the refereeing last season, so he was asked what these ‘ghosts’ represent around Atalanta.
“If you see me here again, then probably the ghosts are still hanging around. I hope not, I really hope not.”