After waiting so long to see Milan return to the Champions League, Wednesday's match was a soul-crushing experience. The way that referee Cünet Çakir managed the match was criminal, and it looks like UEFA will be suspending him. Certainly, he will not be reffing any Milan matches any time soon. However, that does not change the injustice of a game Milan clearly could and should have won, yet instead took zero points from. Nor does it help the probability that this match could make the difference in our quest to move past the Group Stage in an already difficult group. Pioli has been amazing with the mentality of this young team, but this will be a true test of his capabilities, if he can inspire this team to move past this injustice.
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| All you can do is put it behind you and move forward |
Life is not fair, and football is certainly anything but fair. VAR giveth, and VAR taketh away. Referees are painfully human, and one referee having a really bad night can cost a team qualification for the next round or a spot on the table or even a trophy. As players become more experienced, they tend to learn these truths the hard way. However, Milan have the second youngest team in the Champions League this season, and they were all incredulous at the many poor decisions Çakir made. Bennacer, for example, after seeing the video of the handball incident in stoppage time on Wednesday, was completely bewildered that VAR did not intervene. After all, isn't that what VAR is for?
At the final whistle, the young Milan players once again swarmed Çakir. I am not sure what they were trying to accomplish, because the result was final and the damage done. Pioli had to shepherd them away to keep them from getting any further punishments, but they were rightfully angry. This was a horrible injustice. They sweat blood on the pitch for over 90 minutes, playing a man down for over an hour, only to have three points stolen from them by the man in the middle and his colleague in the VAR booth.
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| Injustice hurts |
Sunday's match will be a true test of what this team is made of. If Pioli can channel this righteous anger, then Atalanta should be shaking in their boots. Di Bello has been assigned for this match, and he is a good referee. He obviously understands the atmosphere going into this match, and I'm sure that he will do everything to have a good game himself. Also, as much as Serie A referees are criticized, they referee in the most technically difficult league in Europe, and are amongst the best. Di Bello's performance will be crucial, but more importantly, the players will have to put Wednesday's match behind them and move past the injustice.
This post inspired by the music of She Wants Revenge's "Tear You Apart"
Reviewed by Elaine
on
11:30 PM
Rating:
