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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Sport
Marc Mayo

Italian pundit slams decision not to send Raheem Sterling off amid AC Milan fury over Chelsea clash

Italian pundits lined up to slam referee Daniel Siebert after his performance in Chelsea’s win over AC Milan.

Fikayo Tomori was dismissed for a tangle with Mason Mount in the box as the Blues took a 1-0 lead after only 21 minutes of the Champions League clash at the San Siro.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed the points before the break in a match that sparked fury among Milan commentators, with one moment involving Raheem Sterling also drawing ire.

The England winger was booked for a lunge on Rade Krunic before the half-hour mark and avoided a second yellow for a later incident involving Ismael Bennacer.

Former Serie A and Fifa-listed referee Graziano Cesari made clear his anger at the moment, and told Mediaset: “Sterling was rightly booked for a foul on Krunic, but then later the same player stopped Bennacer by not even looking for the ball. That was a red for me, absolutely.”

Milan boss Stefano Pioli admitted his team were “naive” in defence but expressed his disagreement with the decision to send off Tomori.

He said: “Of course there is anger and regret, we wanted to restart with a positive result but having to play 80 minutes outnumbered was a shame. We committed naivety on a defensive level.”

A number of pundits on Italian TV joined in with the criticism of Siebert.

Fabrizio Ravanelli, the former Juventus and Middlesbrough striker, stated on Mediaset: “The match never started, it was a decision that upset the challenge and the beauty of the match.

“Milan showed that they could put Chelsea in difficulty but the referee ruined everything.”

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