Two more controversial incidents have come to light from AC Milan’s derby win over Inter, with two moments going unpunished.
There is a lot of discussion ongoing surrounding the penalty awarded by Simone Sozza after a VAR check following what was adjudged to be a foul by Strahinja Pavlovic on Marcus Thuram. It has divided experts, with some calling it an ‘abomination’ and others stating it was a ‘reckless’ challenge.
A couple of other moments have gone under the microscope, though. Firstly, Lautaro Martinez swung an elbow at Matteo Gabbia while going up for a header in the first half. It left the defender with a bloodied nose, and the force behind it suggested there was a more cynical intention.
Then, there is the rather bizarre incident involving Rafael Leao and Francesco Acerbi. As the pair battled for an aerial ball, Leao was dragged to the ground by his hair, which rightly prompted his furious complaints and a long talking-to for the pair from Sozza. Both went unpunished.
Prima gomitata di #Lautaro a #Gabbia, poi calcione a #Pavlovic da terra.
Come fa ad essere ancora in campo l’argentino??
E in più questa robaccia qua di #Acerbi👇
Ah, l’ammonito alla fine e’ #Leao.Che roba brutta, che schifo.
Sarà durissima, si cerca di portarla da loro in… pic.twitter.com/uMzPhgKoHv— Milan memories (@MemoriesMilan) November 23, 2025
The Acerbi one was quite blatant. He knew what he was doing. And no VAR.
It looked to me like Lautaro’s elbow was inadvertent. Odd that the foul was called on Gabbia while he was clearly bleeding from the nose.
The incident with Rafa and Acerbi was something I completely missed in the run of play, and apparently Sozza did too. Once the replay went up, it was easy to see why Rafa was upset.
Studs to the feet and ankle, like the penalty with Thuram, are nothing short of a hot mess for Serie A and the officiating simply must be more consistent.
His fouls are professional ill give him that but he knew
“It looked to me like Lautaro’s elbow was inadvertent. Odd that the foul was called on Gabbia while he was clearly bleeding from the nose. ”
Inadvertent or not, that’s a clear booking, or perhaps even a red card. Referees can’t read minds to see if a player did foul on purpose or not. What they judge is the action itself.
The VAR should have stepped in for that one IMO.
Absolutely. And if its inadvertant in the referees eyes they should have done the same for that penalty on Pavlovic. He only looked at the ball and it was obvious in the replay.
But Goddamn I wouldnt have want to miss Cagla getting owned on the spot. Made my day and month
Also that Lautaro mf kicked kneecaps when he had the chance. We need a thug in our lineup. Even Krunic used to punish this kinda Sh
I’m glad the ref did not give any red cards to inter players for their obvious fouls. Inter would have shut the shops and force the match to end in a draw or if that was unsuccessful, and we win against 10 men, inter fans and players would come up with excuses; this would’ve helped them mentally prepare for the next derby.
As things stand right now this win demoralizes them and every tear they shed drives the Rossoneri and Milanisti to win their upcoming matches. Forza Milan.
Yup we are the superior side. Our time is here. Forza Milan !
Both of these are at least yellow cards, depends on the criteria the referee has.
The Lautaro elbowing was definitely a red card offense, and it is a complete travesty that demonstrates that the ref was biased against Milan (as usual) by not showing a red, not even showing a yellow, and to make it even worse, calling for a foul against Gabbia, the victim.
The episode between Acerbi and Rafa was another instance of the blatant bias Italian referees have against black players. It is a demonstrable FACT demonstrated in objective stats, that black players in Italy collect way more yellows and reds than their white counterparts, and often get carded for offenses that are ignored when the exact same offense is committed by a white player.
The ref went to talk with Acerbi and Rafa, and visibly we can see by his face and body language, that he was way more upset at the victim, Rafa, yelling at him while speaking calmly and respectfully to Acerbi, the aggressor. And then, already predisposed against Rafa (for the sin of daring to complain of a blatant and unprofessional aggression that he suffered from a white player), right after, the ref got his revenge, yellow-carding Rafa for a banal foul.
Not only refs in Italy are a bunch of interisti and juventini who often are biased against Milan (also a FACT supported by stats, showing that Inter and Juve benefit from controversial refereeing decisions much more often than Milan, which most the opposite, is on the losing end of the same), refs in Italy are also notoriously biased against black players.
My son likes to call these yellow and red cards against black players, “racist cards.” He is absolutely right about it. This is NOT playing the race card (pun not intended). I’m white and so is my son. But we are not blind. It’s also not any bias against Italy. We are Italians.
Whoever said the pk was an abomination is an utter fool. Imagine how extremely upset we’d all be if Acerbi had stomped on Leao like that and no call was made. That kind of late reckless challenge is a penalty and a yellow all day every day. That was 100% on Pav
Some people wrote that Estupinan penalty wasn’t one, so not sure what you expect. 😀
how VAR did not intervene on the Acerbi foul but did for Pavlovic underlines all that is wrong with VAR..both were penalties…LM is thug. his kicking of pavlovic and elbow to gabbia should have been punished by the ref
no surprise.. that’s Merda’s way from time to time, just like calciopoli