Controversy surrounding Juan Cuadrado’s late dismissal will overshadow the bottom line, and perhaps rightly so. The Columbian winger saw a second yellow card late in Florence, his apparent embellishment after a Gokhan Inler tackle in Napoli’s penalty area drawing his second booking for simulation. The visitors would go on to beat Fiorentina, 2-1.

In the replay, the card looked harsh. While the fall seemed theatrical, there was obvious contact – and not the incidental kind. In an attempt to play the ball just inside the 18-yard box, the Swiss destroyer stuck out his right leg, caught Cuadrado, and sent him to ground. It wasn’t a huge hit, and it wasn’t intentional, but it was there. Upon review, a penalty call seemed just as plausible as the booking, if not more so.

If that penalty gets called, Giuseppe Rossi likely converts for the equalizer. He’d already beaten Pepe Reina from the spot earlier in the match. Instead of suffering their second loss of the season, la Viola take a point, stay tied for fourth, and pull Napoli farther back of league-leading Roma. Instead, Rafa Benítez’s side saw first half goals from José Callejon and Dries Mertens pull them within two of the Giallorossi, who host Chievo tomorrow.



Cuadrado’s dismissal came a minute into stoppage time, so it didn’t have a prolonged impact on the match. Even if Giampaolo Calvarese doesn’t made the mistake of dismissing the Colombian, there’s no guarantee he would have awarded the penalty. The match may have finished 2-1 regardless.

Still, the whole scene was a strange one. In one moment it appeared a player had achieved the rare feat of being sent off for two diving infractions. In the next, the second infraction seemed bogus and Fiorentina hard done.

And then the whistle blew.

Elsewhere in Italy on Wednesday:

Juventus 4-0 Catania: A dominant performance by the defending champions saw the Bianconeri out-shoot their guests 23-7, putting 10 shots on target to Catania’s one. First half goals from Arturo Vidal and Andrea Pirlo were complemented by Carlos Tévez and Leonardo Bonucci scores in the second. Juve moves two points back of Roma.

Hellas Verona 2-0 Sampdoria: Samp took the table-climbing promotees to halftime scoreless before Juan Gomez Taleb broke through six minutes into the second half. Luca Toni gave Verona the insurance they sought 12 minutes from time, leaving the Mastiffs in fifth place.

Milan 1-1 Lazio: A well-placed goal from Kaká got the Rossoneri on the scoresheet in the 54th minute, but defender Michaël Ciani’s equalizer left the hosts with a frustrating draw. With the win, Milan would have climbed to seventh, but the 1-1 keeps them 10th.

Sassuolo 1-2 Udinese: Toto Di Natale opened the scoring from the spot before Simone Zaza equalized in the 25th minute, creating a scoreline that would hold until Luis Muriel’s 56th minute winner. The hosts’ chances to pull even received a fatal blow in the 80th minute when Zaza saw straight red.

Genoa 1-0 Parma: Alberto Gilardino made up for his missed penalty kick in the second minute with the winner just before the hour. With only their second clean sheet of the season, Genoa puts five points between themselves and the drop.

Cagliari 0-3 Bologna: Left back Nicola Murru’s second yellow card in the 52nd minute left the hosts down a man and a goal, György Garics’ 26nd minute opener giving Bologna a 1-0 lead. After the dismissal, Bologna quickly tripled their lead, getting goals from Panagiotis Kone and Michele Paziena before the hour.

Livorno 3-3 Torino: The visitors were on their way to an easy day with two goals in the first seven minutes (Ciro Immobile, Kamil Glik). By the 33rd minute, however, Livorno were back even, Paulinho and Leandro Greco sending the game to halftime 2-2. Emerson put the hosts in front near the hour, but a late penalty conceded by Leandro Rinaudo allowed Alessio Cerci to equalize just before full-time.