Already sent off for protesting in the second half of Atalanta-Inter, the big match on Serie A’s 29th matchday, Gian Piero Gasperini revisited the incident involving Ederson’s sending off in his interview with DAZN after the game, harshly criticizing referee Massa’s decision.
Atalanta-Inter, Gasperini’s comments on Ederson’s sending off
“He ruined the end of the game and it’s a shame. A shame for the team, for the opponents, and for all the fans. The circumstances did not justify it; there was no need to escalate it to this point. The game was still open; there were still 20 minutes left that could have been as exciting as the rest of the match had been. The referee overreacted because other incidents deserved yellow cards as well, such as the one involving Bellanova; then came this one which absolutely should not have led to a sending off. Ederson is a sportsmanlike player, and although it’s true that he made a mistake by applauding during the second yellow, the referee ruined a performance here. Because if you look around, there are episodes or words far worse than a small sarcastic applause that are routinely ignored. Here, a player who absolutely did not deserve expulsion was taken off. Afterward, the match lost its appeal, and it’s regrettable because there was a wonderful stadium atmosphere and the match itself was great. Spoiling such a game because of an incident like this harms everyone.
