Bologna coach Thiago Motta was ‘astonished’ by the analysis of Milan’s penalty appeals by DAZN refereeing pundit Luca Marelli. ‘If that’s a penalty, we are not respecting the spirit of football.’
The Rossoblu got off to the best possible start in front of their fans at the Stadio Dall’Ara, as Nicola Sansone broke the deadlock within 33 seconds of kick-off.
Tommaso Pobega drilled in the equaliser from outside the box and the visitors had two penalty appeals for an Adama Soumaoro challenge on Ante Rebic and potential late Jhon Lucumi handball.
When DAZN refereeing expert Luca Marelli said that both those incidents could’ve been spot-kicks, especially the handling offence, Thiago Motta took a firm stance.
“I am honestly astonished by Luca’s comments, because these are absolutely not penalties. The ball hits Lucumi on the body first and he cannot have his arms in any other position to maintain balance,” said the coach.
“As for the Rebic one, if that contact is a penalty, we need to change sport, because we are not on the right path to respect the spirit of football if that is a penalty.”
After that Sansone goal in the opening minute, Bologna seemed to almost disappear from the field.
“We had problems in the first half because we sat too deep, it was not easy to deal with Milan’s movements. After the break we did better, moving our lines forward and competing against a strong side that is after all the Champions of Italy.
“I think overall a draw is the right result for the two teams. The fans contributed to this draw too, we stayed humble, kept the attitude we needed against a team of this level and the crowd gave us a big hand keeping the energy up to defend and then attack.
“It is true that we lacked creativity in the final third today and that could’ve allowed us a better result.”
Bologna have earned some excellent results lately, beating Inter and Atalanta, while holding Milan and Lazio to draws. When asked about their chances of qualifying for Europe, Thiago Motta stayed tight-lipped.
“We have to focus on the present and that means the next match against Verona.”