FC Bayern opponent Lazio affected
Referee suspended for a month after scandalous game
March 3, 2024, 2:48 p.m
Three red cards, one angry speech and definitely too many mistakes. After the scandalous game between Lazio Rome and AC Milan, the Italian association pulled the emergency brake and suspended referee Di Bello for a month. Meanwhile, ex-BVB star Pulisic is receiving death threats on the Internet.
After the Lazio president’s angry speech, referee Marco Di Bello is now just a spectator in Italy. The referee was suspended for a month after a series of mistakes that particularly upset Munich’s Champions League opponents from Rome, as the “Gazzetta dello Sport” reported.
The 42-year-old had already attracted negative attention before Lazio’s spectacular 1-0 defeat against AC Milan with three red cards. After blatant errors in the Serie A game between Juventus Turin and Bologna FC on August 27, 2023 (1-1), Di Bello had already been suspended for 36 days.
The referees’ association’s decision somewhat reassured Lazio boss Claudio Lotito, who spoke of a “humiliation” for his club in the botched dress rehearsal before the second leg of the round of 16 at Bayern Munich on Tuesday (9 p.m./Prime Video and in the live ticker on ntv.de) had spoken. He was particularly angry about the three dismissals against his team in the second half.
Pulisic threatened by internet “heroes”.
Lotito then criticized the refereeing in Serie A in general. “This has been going on for some time,” he said, calling for changes: “Either the system is able to correct itself with complete autonomy, or we have to turn to a third authority.”
The scandal game resulted in further ugliness. After the game, US international Christian Pulisic received a flood of death threats and insults on social media. The former Borussia Dortmund player was involved in two of the three red cards.
When the AC Milan winger shared celebratory pictures on Instagram after the game, numerous users showered him with their hatred. At some point, his Milan teammate Theo Hernandez got tired of it. “Puliiiiii, I’ll do your security,” wrote the 1.84 meter tall defender.