Refereeing experts have labeled Pierre Kalulu’s red card in the Inter vs. Juventus clash a “total howler,” arguing that Alessandro Bastoni simulated contact to provoke the decisive second yellow card.
Refereeing experts Luca Marelli and Graziano Cesari have condemned the decision to send off Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu during tonight’s Derby d’Italia.
Kalulu was dismissed after receiving a second yellow card for an alleged foul on Alessandro Bastoni, yet replays suggest no contact occurred.
Marelli described the decision as “a very serious error from La Penna,” noting that VAR protocol prevented any intervention.
The controversy deepened as pundits accused Bastoni of simulation, with Cesari calling the incident a “huge mistake” and a “total howler.”
He suggested Bastoni actually deserved a booking himself for unsporting behavior.
Despite the outcry, the red card stood, forcing Juventus to play the second half with ten men. As Cesari noted, “The second yellow card is non-existent. There is no contact.”