Leonardo: 'Clear refereeing errors'

By Football Italia staff

Milan director Leonardo claims their defeat to Juventus was decided by “very clear refereeing errors and the general behaviour of the referee was inadequate.”

Krzysztof Piatek had put the Rossoneri ahead during a very impressive first half performance, but a Paulo Dybala penalty and Moise Kean goal turned it around.

The main focus was the incident when still 0-0 that saw Alex Sandro charge down a Hakan Calhanoglu cross with his arm, but after viewing it on VAR, the referee decided it was involuntary.

“It looks like a pretty clear penalty,” smiled Leonardo on Sky Sport Italia when viewing the footage of the Alex Sandro handball.

“We are very disappointed, because we asked the team for a performance of courage and confidence, which is what we got. To leave empty-handed due to very clear refereeing errors and the general behaviour of the referee being inadequate, it’s very disappointing.

“For example, the booking to Hakan Calhanoglu was inexplicable. The referee needs to calm the situation down, not create further irritation and tension.

“These are very disappointing situations. I don’t want to create controversy, but it’s disappointing.”

Kean got the winner today, but Milan had been in negotiations to sign the 19-year-old in January.

“It’s true that Kean is a player we were interested in and talked about with Juventus. He was a promising teen at the time, but is now a reality.”

Leonardo was asked about his apparently tense rapport with Coach Gennaro Gattuso.

“I think the pitch and what happens there has to do the talking. We directors generally don’t talk very much. We talked between ourselves, we are very clear and always have been.

“I’ve known Rino for 20 years, he knows everything and there are no secrets, no needing to hang around and see what happens. He was already here when we arrived, we decided to stay with him, were always very clear with him and never contacted any other Coach.”

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