Sarri hits out at refereeing after Atalanta’s defeat to Milan

After Atalanta’s defeat to Milan, Maurizio Sarri strongly questioned the refereeing and alluded to Adrien Rabiot. “If I had said what Rabiot said, he would have sent me off!” the Italian coach said, arguing that some players are treated differently when they insult referees.

Milan won 3-2 at San Siro on Sunday evening in the seventh round of the Italian league. The side held off a late Atalanta fightback after coming close to surrendering a three-goal advantage. The win moved Milan to 15 points and fourth place, while Atalanta remained tenth on 9 points.

Sarri also criticised Daniele Chiffi’s handling of the match, saying his dissatisfaction with the referee was not new. “I didn’t like the way the referee managed the match as a whole. I’m not here to get into an argument, but this happens every time I have to deal with Daniele Chiffi,” he said.

The coach also recalled that Krstović had created his team’s first dangerous opportunity, before refereeing decisions and events began, in his view, to go against Atalanta. He was nevertheless pleased with his players’ response in the closing minutes, when the team could still have hoped for a better outcome.

“We had the chance to equalise at 3-3, and there was still a relatively long time before the end of the match,” he added, saying the course of the game had changed. Sarri also highlighted the substitutions’ role in Atalanta’s comeback and said his team was becoming more cohesive.

Milan remain unbeaten after seven Serie A matches, with four wins and three draws, 14 goals scored and 7 conceded. Across their last five league games, they have two wins and three draws without a defeat.