AC Milan are scheduled to face Venezia away from home tomorrow and as announced by the Italian Referees Association, AIA, Gianluca Mangianiello will officiate the game despite controversy in Milan-Lazio.
Nearly two months ago now, in Milan’s game against Lazio at San Siro, Manganiello handed out a red card to the Rossoneri and awarded a questionable penalty to the Biancocelesti right at the death. They scored the winner through that penalty as well, fueling the anger among the fans.
The worst decision, however, was undoubtedly the Strahinja Pavlovic red card as the defender was sent off for DOGSO (Denial of an Obvious Goal Scoring Opportunity) despite two of the four criteria being missing.
As such, with AIA giving tomorrow’s game to Manganiello, Milan fans are right to ask questions even if the league doesn’t mean much at this point. The overall record is also positive with the referee: 5 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats.
Hopefully, there will be no controversy on the officiating front tomorrow, with Milan in need of three points to keep the momentum from the derby win going. Indeed, building confidence ahead of the Coppa Italia final is crucial for the Rossoneri now, given how much that game means for them.
