The qualification in extremis of the Azzurri at the next European Championships in Germany was greeted with a huge sigh of relief collective in Italy. Beyond the Alps, however, the reactions were characterized by white-hot controversies directed against the referee of Ukraine-Italy, Jesus Gil Manzano. Is it the fault of the Spanish whistle? Not having assigned what in slow motion seemed like an intervention from fairly clear penalty by Roman player Bryan Cristante on the Slav forward Mudryk. The protests, however, also involve UEFA, especially given the statements of president Ceferin, who had defined the possible exclusion of Italy a disaster”.
Rebrov: “We don’t decide”
The person concerned, the coach of Ukraine Serhij Rebrovdid not hide his disappointment in the post-match press conference, but avoided making specific accusations. “Per me it was rigor, but the referee saw it differently. VAR exists, it’s true, but we’re not the ones who decide. Nobody invited the race director to review the monitor”. A good analysis more measured than we are used to seeing in Serie A, with the Ukrainian coach preferring to look at how good his team showed on the pitch: “We played against the European champions, it was difficult from the start. In the first half we worked mainly on defense, in the second half we brought more pressure to win the ball back. The boys in the locker room they were very sadbut I told them that we played a good match”.
The coach’s measured reaction is perhaps due to the fact that his national team It’s not out yet from the games for Euro 2024, given that they will be able to earn qualification by facing the other teams in the playoffs. The draw, scheduled for Thursday 23 November in Nyon, will see Ukraine as favourites, together with Poland and Greece, so Rebrov’s caution is somewhat justified. The technician prefers to think about how prepare as best as possible his national team, which continues to train in very complicated conditions: “It wasn’t and isn’t easy, but we have always done and do our part and continue to work to the best of our ability. I want thank the Italians: both the fans in the stands and the players on the pitch showed us great respect”.
Everyone against the UEFA “mafia”.
The rest of the football universe had no problem putting together a real international case, dedicating the front pages of their newspapers to the controversial decision of Gil Manzano. Almost everyone, in fact, believed that Cristante’s foot hit clearly that of Chelsea’s young talent, who had arrived clearly early on the ball. In England, the media reaction was unequivocal in condemning the decision as a “real theft”considering Mudryk would be “Knocked down in the area” from the blue midfielder.
Fans claim UEFA conspiracy theory after Ukraine denied ‘stonewall’ penalty vs Italy. pic.twitter.com/BM0ypTdbtV
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) November 21, 2023
Among the most disjointed reactions are those arriving right from the homeland of the referee, where Mr. Gil Manzano has already hit the headlines for having denied penalties quite clear to Barcelona, therefore ending up in the meat grinder of the Iberian sports press. His colleagues do not spare the irony towards him, going from defining his decision as a “mess” to accuse him in a perhaps ungenerous manner of “having ate a penalty”.
Ukraine cries out against Gil Manzano for the possible penalty in the 93rd minute that could have gotten him in the Euro Cup
The Spanish referee did not signal or go to review the VAR for a tackle by Acerbi on Mudryk #Euro2024Qualifiershttps://t.co/VIWdjG6hDz
— MARCA (@marca) November 20, 2023
The Ukrainian media, however, they have no doubts on the authorship of the decision: according to them, everything happened decided at the table from UEFA, who would see the idea of a European championship without the reigning champions as smoke and mirrors. No one had forgotten Ceferin’s wordswhich was said “Safe” which, in the end, Spalletti’s eleven would have won. The signs displayed last night at the BayArena in Leverkusen by Ukrainian fans, with the word “mafia” in plain sight, they turned out to be an easy prophecy. Controversy to no endso as not to miss anything, in spite of nice words and good feelings.
