Juventus manager Igor Tudor had some harsh words for the refereeing after two controversial decisions meant that his side dropped points for the first time in this Serie A campaign, drawing 1-1 with Hellas Verona. Francisco Conceicao had given the away side the lead in the 19th minute but Gift Orban equalised for Verona in the first half itself, thanks to a penalty after a handball incident from Joao Mario.
Tudor was clearly not happy with the decision and did not mince words at all post game. โThe penalty is shameful, only someone who has never played can give it. They donโt see the ball, this penalty doesnโt exist. The rule is shameful.โ Juventus were also unluckily on the receiving end of another debatable penalty call midweek in their 4-4 draw versus Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
The controversy in this game wouldnโt end there though, as the goalscorer Orban appeared to blatantly elbow Juventus defender Federico Gatti in the face without drawing a red card either from the referee or the VAR. This, too, drew the ire of Tudor. โThe red card for a foul on Gatti, I saw it: they told me he hadnโt charged him. Never seen before, two decisions like that: I donโt know what to say. If you donโt give a red card here, I donโt know what youโre giving it for, he doesnโt look at anything. If this isnโt red, reallyโฆ Itโs a disgrace, with VAR these two decisionsโฆ,โ he said, as reported by tuttosport.com. โBut I donโt want to talk about this for excuses, but thatโs how matches are decided. This decision isnโt 80-20, itโs 100% against 0, two decisions both wrong . โ
Juventus will, however, have to recover quickly from this result as they have to face Atalanta next weekend, with Napoli who are one point behind them in second yet to play this weekend.
Kaulik Mitra | GIFN
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