Milan midfielder Tijjani Reijnders was sent off in the first half of a home Serie A game against Udinese, and DAZN pundit Luca Marelli said the referee’s decision was ‘understandable’.
Milan dominated in the opening 29 minutes against Udinese, breaking the deadlock with Nigerian winger Chukwueze at minute 13.
However, there was a major twist only a few minutes later when Dutch midfielder Reijnders received a straight red.
Sandi Lovric received a long pass from the Udinese defence, running towards Mike Maignan’s goal with no other Milan player in front of him.
Reijnders red card in Milan vs Udinese explained
Reijnders tracked back and crossed paths with the Bianconeri midfielder, and although it looked like an accidental tackle, referee Daniele Chiffi gave the Milan star a straight red. It was an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO), so DAZN referee pundit Marelli was not surprised by the decision.
“It’s entirely casual, but this doesn’t mean the incident should be judged differently,” he said live.
“It must be said that Lovric slightly changed direction as well. It’s a tough decision to make, but it’s understandable because of Reijnders’ negligence. It’s a DOGSO. Thiaw was the closest player, but he was seven or eight meters away.”
Udinese had a goal disallowed for offside before the break, so the opening 45 minutes finished with Milan up one goal.
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