Giampiero Ventura felt it “impossible” that Diego Costa and Sergio Ramos weren’t sent off when Spain held Italy to a 1-1 draw.
German referee Felix Brych seemed to make many mistakes during the World Cup qualifier in Turin, especially as he had initially not given the penalty for a Ramos trip on Eder.
The foul was only highlighted by his assistant and even then Ramos did not receive a second yellow card.
Giampiero Ventura felt it “impossible” that Diego Costa and Sergio Ramos weren’t sent off when Spain held Italy to a 1-1 draw.
German referee Felix Brych seemed to make many mistakes during the World Cup qualifier in Turin, especially as he had initially not given the penalty for a Ramos trip on Eder.
The foul was only highlighted by his assistant and even then Ramos did not receive a second yellow card.
Earlier, Diego Costa kicked the ball away petulantly following an offside call and also escaped a second booking. He was substituted by a concerned Julen Lopetegui moments later.
“The two red cards not given are just shocking,” said Italy Coach Ventura in his Press conference.
“It’s impossible not to give a second yellow to both Costa and Ramos. Even one of those red cards would’ve changed the game.”
The fact remains that Spain dominated the first half with 72 per cent possession and Ventura admits he got the approach wrong.
“Spain’s attitude, and our own anxiety, forced us to change our approach. It was necessary to change at half-time and we did change.
“This all adds to our experience, including mine, because going back I’d have started the game differently. The spirit is extremely positive and Andrea Barzagli is an example of that.”
The match seemed to change once Ciro Immobile and Andrea Belotti came off the bench.
“We needed players from the start who could continually press. If I hadn’t been forced into an early change (for Riccardo Montolivo’s injury), then Belotti would’ve come on earlier.
“Ultimately, Spain didn’t have real shots on target aside from the goal. This game must teach us many things.”
Why did Marco Verratti not feature, instead using Montolivo and then Jack Bonaventura?
“I have said it before, Verratti is not in great shape and is not able to play two games in just over 48 hours. On Sunday it is a very important match with Macedonia and we’ll see who is in the right condition.
“We are trying to introduce young players gradually, as above all in Italy we can’t change everything overnight. Before the match, people said starting Alessio Romagnoli was a gamble…
“We do need to do more and be more courageous against quality opposition. Going back, I would do things differently from the start. Unfortunately we had a few issues in some areas of the field and need a different attitude to mask those problems.”