Refereeing decisions not the only worry for Inter

Date: 11th October 2011 at 8:45am
Written by:

Following the heavy loss to Napoli at the San Siro, numerous statements were made by Inter Milan criticising referee Gianluca Rocchi for his performance, virtually claiming it was actually the ref himself who defeated Inter, rather than Walter Mazzarri’s men from Naples.

Since the fixture, the story has dominated the Italian media, forcing Italian Referee Designator Stefano Braschi to release his own statement, defending Rocchi. “He’s one of the best and most important referees in Europe,” Braschi stated. “I have great respect for him. He’s been delivering top performances for the last 18 months now. We are talking about a man and an athlete of a great level. Every now and again, he can have a bad game. He was just below par.”

If we were to look at each decision made by Gianluca Rocchi, it is hard to disagree with Braschi. Yes, the officiating was below par, but the way the Nerazzurri acted on the night you would think it was the worst refereeing performance of all time! The main incidents that sparked the angry reaction from Inter were as follows;

1. Disallowing Pazzini’s ‘opening’ goal for offside.

2. The sending off of Joel Obi, following two yellow cards.

3. The awarding of a penalty to Napoli after a foul outside the box.

4. Allowing Camagnaro’s goal to stand following Cesar’s penalty save, despite being in the area when the spot kick was taken.

Starting with Pazzini’s goal, after watching replays several times, it is still almost impossible to determine whether or not the goal should have stood. At the time the ball was played, it would appear that the Italian strikers’ feet were onside, but his torso and head were offside. It was as close as you can get, and besides that, Inter seemed to forget that it is the referees assistant who made the call, and so no real blame can be attached to the man in black (or bright yellow) in this case.

Moving on to the sending off, Rocchi has to share some of the blame. Joel Obi’s first booking was a very poor judgement call. As Napoli attempted to break away, Obi sprinted to catch Lavezzi and executed a perfectly timed tackle, winning the ball cleanly. Not even a free kick should have been awarded, and as the ref was perfectly placed to see the challenge, he would have to accept he got that particular decision wrong.

Possibly the biggest flash-point in the game was Obi’s second booking, which resulted in both the dismissal of the young Nigerian and a penalty awarded to Napoli. Again, a degree of sympathy must be shown towards Rocchi. Regardless of the validity of the first yellow, Obi was guilty of tripping Maggio after he had sprinted through a gap on the left of Inter’s defence, and had a clear run on goal. The referee had no choice other than to brandish a second yellow for a cynical foul. A lack of experience by Obi whilst being forced to cover an unfamiliar position was the real reason behind the sending off.

Replays show that the initial contact for the foul on Maggio did take place outside the penalty area, but in real-time and considering the pace and momentum of the players, which carried both involved sprawling into the box, it is no surprise that a penalty was awarded. The complaints at the time were centered on the unjustified red card and not the impending spot-kick. In any case, if Inter had wanted to protest against a penalty, their focus should, again, have turned towards the assistant ref, as he was the closest official and capable of challenging the decision.

Finally, Campagnaro was guilty of being inside the area when the penalty was taken, so by the letter of the law, it should have been re-taken. However, if the original shot had gone over the bar or wide, would the Nerrazurri have asked Rocchi to give Hamsik a second chance, due to the fact that there were three Inter defenders guilty of encroaching before the ball left his boot? It is, in fact, much harder to find a penalty kick taken where everybody does actually obey the laws of the game, so for Moratti and Co., trying make an issue of this just comes across as sour grapes.

Looking back, although Rocchi did indeed have a poor game, the only decision that seemed truly inexplicable was the first yellow card given to Joel Obi. Of the other major talking points, Inter were simply the victims of bad luck on the day, and if anything, they would have been more justified in complaining about the referees assistants, as offsides and the whereabouts of fouls around the penalty area are more their responsibility.

Regardless, everyone at Inter Milan should take a long look at themselves, as their behaviour following the opening goal was a disgrace. Rather than trying to regroup and trying to at least snatch a draw, they decided to play the victims and acted like spoilt brats. The normally unflappable Zanetti was booked for dissent, Julio Cesar should have definitely been sent off for going nose-to-nose with Rocchi, Lucio charged around like a madman for the remainder of the game and the Manager was sent to the stands! Ranieri and Obi must now serve bans, and Zanetti, Milito and Cordoba, who wasn’t even playing, have all been handed fines.

To be fair to Massimmo Moratti, after having had a few days to calm down, he has now accepted Braschi’s explanation and dismissed any suggestions of a conspiracy against Inter. His next course of action should probably be to sit down with his manager and players, and discuss the proper way to act in future when facing defeat. From a personal point of view, as a devoted Inter Milan fan, and after enjoying so much success in recent years, it is a real shame to see that Inter seem to have forgotten how to lose with grace.

For all the latest Serie A club news don’t forget to check out the Clubs section of Forza Italian Football.

Join Forza Italian Football on Twitter and Facebook.


We are always looking for new writers, so if you think you know Calcio, email us: forzaitalianfootball@snack-media.com

 

Comments are closed.