Referee Marco Serra is back in action for the first time since he was suspended following the howler in Milan’s 2-1 defeat to Spezia on January 17.
The incident proved decisive for the Serie A match at San Siro, as Serra didn’t follow protocol on playing the advantage, instead whistling to stop play for a free kick just before Junior Messias fired in what would’ve been a stoppage-time winner.
VAR could not fix this error, as play had been stopped, and to make matters worse Spezia then went on to score the winner instead on the counter-attack.
Serra was so distraught, the Milan players ended up consoling him after the match, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Alessandro Florenzi.
The official was effectively suspended following the mistake, but will return to the field this weekend, as he has been assigned to the Serie B match between Perugia and Frosinone.
Serra had been used in the VAR booth for another Serie B fixture on January 22, Brescia-Ternana.