Former referee says Verona midfielder should have been sent off for Jimenez slap | OneFootball

As is often the case these days, the officiating ended up in the spotlight during AC Milan’s game against Hellas Verona last night. The former referee and expert Luca Marelli believes the Bentegodi side should have been reduced to ten men.

It was in the 59th minute that Alexi Jimenez made his way down the right flank. He continued into the box but his cross was blocked by Ondrej Duda who, after the ball went out of play, slapped the Spaniard at the back of his head/on the neck.

Naturally, the Milan full-back got upset and perhaps showed a bit of his inexperience, giving the midfielder a pretty clear push with both hands. The referee Francesco Fourneau decided to give a yellow card to Jimenez but spared Duda, having clearly missed the first slap.

As stated by Luca Marelli, the former referee and current DAZN expert, the slap by Duda was far from nice and should have resulted in a yellow card. It’s a yellow card that would have seen the midfielder get sent off, as he was already on a yellow at that point.

“Duda’s gesture isn’t beautiful and certainly unsportsmanlike. The referee should have given him a second yellow card. VAR couldn’t intervene because it was only worthy of a yellow card,” he stated as cited by MilanNews24.

In the end, Jimenez had the last laugh as he helped set up the winning goal, receiving a good rating from us after what was a decisive performance.