Milan furious with Bartesaghi’s red card as replays confirm referee made a mistake

AC Milan were left furious with the referee in their 3-0 win against Lecce as Davide Bartesaghi was sent off just minutes after coming off the bench. Indeed, the replays showed that it clearly wasn’t a red-card offence, with the referee making a serious mistake. 

Bartesaghi came off the bench in the 75th minute and just five minutes later, he was shown a red card after a tackle on Lameck Banda. The referee didn’t hesitate as he showed the red card and the youngster’s reaction told us everything we needed to know.

Looking at the replays, it’s true that the tackle was perhaps on the reckless side but Bartesaghi got the ball and only made contact with Banda’s foot after. In short, his studs were in a natural position and there was nothing he could do.

Today’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport (via SempreMilan) analysed the referee’s performance, as it does after every game, and stated that a yellow card would have been more appropriate. And on social media, Milan fans have been highlighting the reckless tackle made by Yann Sommer in the derby last weekend (which wasn’t even a yellow card despite the studs being much higher).

It remains to be seen if the Rossoneri will appeal the red card, and if they would even be successful, as the referee made a judgement call. Still, with the replays showing a different story, it’s very strange that VAR wasn’t called into action last night.

Tags AC Milan Davide Bartesaghi Lecce

25 Comments

  1. They need to ask questions. What was var doing? Wtf is it there for? Poor kid finally gets some minutes and this happens. Yeah, that won’t effect him at all..

          1. think i’d trust your memory over mine? I’ve seen how stupid peeple are. couldnt member what they talk about 3 days ago let alone what they said weeks ago.. doubt you’re any better than. You probably dont even have a mental palace build in that noggin of yours

  2. Ref should be suspended. That kind of mistake could have a big affect in the kids career. I wouldn’t even say it was wreckless.

    1. He got the ball
    2. His studs weren’t up
    3. His studs were nowhere near the players shin
    4. By the time go had gone through the ball and was near the player his foot was back down on the ground again

    Defenders can’t defend anymore…. They are taking heading out of the game as well…what is going to be left

    1. Are you blind? Look at the photo at the top of the page. His studs are quite clearly hitting the Lecce player’s ankle. In today’s game getting a touch first doesn’t matter, it is a reckless challenge that endangers the opponent. That is a red card every time. I’m not saying that I disagree that the game has gotten soft, but that’s just how it is, and Bartesaghi needs to learn to play under control.

      1. Idk if it is a red card or not, but I agree with you that Bartesaghi was naive in how he dealt with the situation. That kind of challenge is always dangerous. Better concede a goal than risk getting a red card, especially when the result is 3-0.

      2. You’re clearly in a group of one who thinks this is a red card. Still photos are always misleading, if you watch the incident he CLEARLY takes the ball first, this is the natural way to tackle unless you’re a complete pu$$y…I’ve watched it so many times now frame by bloody frame, if you pause it, when Bartesaghi makes contact with the ball his foot is lower than the Lecce player and his studs aren’t up, his foot is to the side abiut and inch off the floor it’s all based On the follow through, you can’t not follow through, you also can’t control follow through. It’s utter bullsh!t

        I’ll ask you what I ask many here…have you played the game? Have you gone in for a sliding tackle? Do you understand the mechanics of the human body? From the trajectory that Bartesaghi was coming into the challenge that is the only way he can tackle without him leaving his own ankle at risk. Different iff you’re sweeping in from alongside. There’s also the precedent of other challenges gone unpunished…

        But still…you sit in your group of one….

      3. If you’re logic applies then there’s literally no way you can slide tackle…let’s take that out too, alongside heading…the game is being ruined

        1. Not only can’t you see well, but you also clearly lack in reading comprehension. I said that I think the game has become soft. But unlike you, I accept that fact and understand how the game is now officiated.
          Did I play, yes, and also coached at much higher levels than I suspect pretty much anyone else on this site has. I made many a slide tackle, just not straight into the opponent. Well I did a few times and was sent off once when I broke someone’s leg.
          It is a reckless challenge, he was out of control and could have caused an injury. Would a yellow been acceptable, perhaps, but a red is not unusual for such an incident.

          1. Blind?….You will see what you choose to see, as will I, I saw an aggressive sliding tackle where nobody was hurt, the sort that used to be seen as great defending…remember Nesta’s tackle on Messi in the box…..I’m defending the game here, you may accept the way the game is going but I am not. Presumably if you coach as I do, you are aware of the new rule coming in on heading the ball? They are removing all jeopardy from sport, you can’t have sport without jeopardy.

            The game has always been officiated, we are now taking contact out of a contact support, I also played and coached rugby, and the same is happening in that great game too.

            If you’ve played like you say you have you cannot under any circumstance state that that challenge was wreckless or out of control. Fine if you want to say it’s BS but follows modern rules ok, but you said it was wreckless You will see 100 worse tackles this season throughout Europe, probably a lot more. Now we can either defend this once great sport, or we can just accept the BS changes that are destroying the game.

            I played as a no10 so shouldn’t really have sympathy for defenders, but the ability to defend has all but been taken out of the game, you hear the great defenders from only 20 yeas ago saying it, not 60 years ago. This isn’t 1980s levels of tackling, and he likes of Nesta, Maldini, Rhuram, Vidic and Ferdinand wouldn’t last a full game these days. Where does it stop? F@cking tag football?

          2. It’s a tough call. It’s really the follow through that takes him into the opposing player at the height of the boot, not even the ankle or the shin, because he’s clearly aiming and going for the ball which he gets to first.

            I don’t think he was out of control in any way because he went for the ball and got there first, like I said. It’s a yellow for me.

          3. Bro don’t tell ppl you’re a coach.. bubbles will not like it 🤣🤣🤣
            Jokes aside, it could go both ways. The one aerial angle looks reckless. One still.looks ok the other looks bad. While he kept his studs low it did ride the players foot. I think if he tackled the ball towards the corner flag it wouldn’t have looked as bad

      4. The bigger issue here is consistency. I don’t care if this is considered a red card, but then ALL suck tackles should be treated the same way. Either they’re red cards or they’re not. It can’t be that Sommer makes the same kind of tackle, clearing the ball and then sliding through the player on the follow through with studs up, and not even being whistled for a foul while Bartesaghi gets red carded. It is one or the other, it can’t be both.

    2. I would not blame the ref but the VAR. OK the ref can do a mistake because eyes sometimes lie and he can’t do a replay to watch it again. It is the VAR’s job to watch replays of the incident and tell the ref the decision was wrong. The ref can be justified, the VAR not.

    1. It’s more the fault of VAR than the fault of the referee, who doesn’t have the benefit of replay in slow motion; VAR does.

      For me, it’s a yellow, not a red. VAR should have intervened and advised the ref to change it to a yellow.

  3. It’s a reckless challenge. Look at the angle and the distance of the ball from the goal, and we were up 3-0. No need to make such a tackle. It’s better to make a professional foul like pulling shirt, pushing, or harsh shoulders contact than that risky challenge. A seasoned player would understand the situation, but i guess if any young players should make any mistake and learns from it, this cameo is the best chance to make it than when he thrown into an important matches.

  4. Only VAR should have given this red – There was no intent and he wasn’t out of control, but if VAR gave it, then you can see why they would, with the benefit of replays. It was the the ref’s mistake to give a straight red in the first place – leave it for VAR to decide whether a yellow is enough.
    If Serie A refs are clamping down, then there have been plenty of reckless and far worse challenges that have gone unpunished so far this season..

Comments are closed

Serie A Standings

Live football scores . Current table, fixtures & results.