Rabiot furious at referee decision: Lying won't work

Milan beat Genoa 2-1 at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris. Alphadjo Cisse and Christian Pulisic scored the goals. Milan's winning goals came at the start of the match.

At the end of the match, Rabiot protested the referee's decisions and was shown a yellow card. Some members of Ruben Amorim's technical staff were sent from the technical area with red cards after an incident in the 50th minute.

Rabiot won the ball from Alessandro Marcandalli and was brought down by a heavy foul. Milan expected a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity (DOGSO) in this situation. However, Marcandalli was shown only a yellow card. Rabiot was also shown a yellow card for his protest. The incident was reviewed by VAR and the decision was upheld.

Former referee Gianpaolo Calvarese defended the decision on Instagram, saying it was correct. Calvarese said there are four criteria for DOGSO: control of the ball, the general direction of play, the number of defenders nearby, and the distance from goal. Saying the contact took place about 60 metres from goal and towards the touchline, Calvarese argued that Davide Massa was right to show only a yellow card. DAZN Italia's referee expert Luca Marelli made a similar statement, saying the contact took place in Milan's half.

These explanations did not convince Rabiot. In his comment on Calvarese's post, Rabiot left a message with a warning tone. The content of the message is not included in the source.