Referees in Italy’s Serie A have come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks for allegedly favoring bigger clubs. On Wednesday, following his team’s 3-2 loss to Inter at the San Siro,Sampdoria vice president Edoardo Garrone fumed that Italian refs are “killing soccer.”
Garrone told Il Secolo XIX: “This is the fourth red cardand the fifth penalty awarded against us. I am not saying this to look after my own interests. I am doing it for soccer. We cannot continue like this, as they are killing soccer.”
Sampdoria’s Andrea Costa was shown a straight red card in the second half for a foul on Inter’s Diego Milito, which resulted in a penalty that tied thematch and put the hosts in control. Garrone didn’t take umbrage with that call, however. “Alvaro Pereira nearly broke Gaetano Berardi’s leg anddidn’t even get a yellow card,” he said, referring to a foul in which Berardi suffered a sprained ankle. “As for the build-up to that third goal, Yuto Nagatomo wasat least two meters offside.”