Juventus goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny feels his teammate and compatriot Arkadiusz Milik was treated differently from Domenico Berardi and Ruslan Malinovskyi, who were not shown straight red cards in games against the Old Lady earlier this season.
Milik was sent off at minute 18 of Juventus’ 1-1 draw against Empoli on Saturday night for a studs up tackle on Alberto Cerri. The Poland international was initially shown a yellow card, but referee Livio Marinelli upgraded his decision to a straight red after an on-field review.
Referee pundits and Italian newspapers have noted that the decision was legitimate, but Szczesny didn’t quite agree.
After his post-match interview with Sky Sport Italia, the ex-Arsenal keeper also spoke to DAZN, commenting on the referee’s decision with sarcasm.
“Nobody has doubts [about Milik’s red], it’s the same dynamic as Berardi against Sassuolo and Malinovskyi in Genoa. Three clear red cards,” said the Poland keeper as quoted by Tuttosport.
Szczesny mentioned two previous fouls committed in games played by Juventus, which didn’t lead to a straight red for the Bianconeri’s opponents.
The Berardi foul was from a game in September, Juventus’ only defeat in Serie A so far in 2023-24, while the Malinovskyi foul was from a Marassi meeting this past December. Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw by Genoa and the Ukraine international only had a yellow card in the final minutes of the match.