Zanetti: ‘Referee ruined the game with Ampadu red’
Venezia coach Paolo Zanetti was livid after a 2-1 home defeat to Salernitana, as Ethan Ampadu’s bizarre red card stood out. ‘The referee ruined the game.’
The Lagunari had taken the lead through Mattia Aramu, then Salernitana equalised thanks to Federico Bonazzoli, but the game turned on 67 minutes when Ampadu was shown a straight red card.
It barely even seemed to be a foul on Franck Ribery, let alone a dismissal, but even after viewing it on the VAR monitor, Marco Di Bello stuck by his decision.
“We did well in the first half and Salernitana naturally came back at us, but then the referee was the worst man on the pitch and he ruined the game,” Zanetti told DAZN.
“Look, we could’ve done better too, but the referee was even called over by VAR to see it again. His earlier yellow card on Ampadu was also absurd, as it wasn’t a foul.”
It is the latest incident after several days of controversy in Serie A around refereeing and the use of VAR.
In this case, even after he was recalled to view the monitor, Di Bello refused to change his mind.
“This destroys and transforms important matches. We are in Serie A and do not expect this sort of thing. We’ll struggle to remain in Serie A, but we want to fight to earn our place on our own merits, not decisions like this.
“I consider myself an honest person and I have no issue saying things to people’s faces. This is the reality of the situation.”
#Venezia, le parole di #Zanetti sulla sconfitta e l’espulsione di #Ampadu https://t.co/zGdvAwhnpq
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) October 26, 2021
