On-Field Capers à la Italiana: What Connects Three Championship Derbies of Shame (videos)

There’s a omniscient saying successful Greek: “A repeated coincidence ceases to beryllium a coincidence”.

In this case, successful 3 shot matches utterly important to find the Greek Super League title, we person 3 mediocre officiating performances by referees from the aforesaid country: Italy.

Therefore, this ceases being simply a… geographical coincidence erstwhile the caput of refereeing astatine UEFA is besides an Italian, the well-known Roberto Rosetti, who supposedly adjacent has a accidental successful appointing apical referees astatine the Hellenic Football Association (HFA) —who, successful turn, name Italian referees for Greek Super League derbies.

Back successful October 2023 astatine the Karaiskakis Stadium, the infamous “Juankar match” takes place, erstwhile a fool successful the stands throws a firecracker adjacent the borderline transportation and Panathinaikos subordinate Juankar declares himself injured, adjacent though different teammates betwixt him and the firecracker suffered thing astatine all! The incidental occurred successful the 50th infinitesimal of the Olympiacos–Panathinaikos derby with the people astatine 1–1.

Referee Fabio Maresca from Naples initially asked the Panathinaikos side, whose players had near the transportation of their ain accord and earlier immoderate impermanent suspension was ordered, to instrumentality to the field. He past called the crippled doc and persistently asked whether the subordinate was “fit to play,” whether helium was capable to instrumentality to the match. However, the doc did not supply a wide answer, arsenic helium was nether tremendous unit and had besides been confronted by the… supposedly injured Juankar.

The Italian referee concluded the lucifer study by stating that the lucifer was abandoned owed to the prolonged hold successful restarting. What is blameworthy for Maresca—and what yet decided the lawsuit successful a sports court, turning the 1–1 gully into a default nonaccomplishment for location broadside Olympiacos—is an further study compiled by Maresca, arsenic requested by a Super League judge, successful which helium arbitrarily wrote astir the “seriousness of injury,” thing helium had ne'er mentioned successful the archetypal lucifer report.

Another antagonistic content for nationalist sentiment was Maresca’s correspondence with HFF and past shadowy main referee Stavros Mandalos, which wasn’t conducted done the Italian Federation, arsenic it should person been, but straight via a yahoo.it email relationship — meaning anyone could person signed arsenic “Maresca” without really being the Italian referee.

Even this shows the level of… coordination with a HFF medication hostile to Olympiacos and an Italian referee who decided the lucifer with that report—and to a ample extent, that season’s championship.

On April 23, 2024, during an Olympiacos–AEK lucifer astatine Karaiskakis, Italian referee Davide Massa coldly “executes” the location broadside with 3 officiating errors that acceptable the stadium ablaze and provoked the choler of the location side’s fans and nine officials. In the 13th minute, AEK defender Vida pushes Makabu successful the container and Massa refuses an evident penalty. In the 38th minute, AEK midfielder Damian Szymański makes 1 of the astir convulsive tackles seen successful immoderate Greek stadiums connected Mathieu Valbuena—a textbook red-card offense—but alternatively the referee motions to “play on,” provoking justified outrage from the location side.

In the last minutes, aft having spared astatine slightest six yellowish cards for AEK players, Massa determines the destiny of the lucifer with 2 inexplicable decisions. In the 82nd minute, successful a duel betwixt Oleg Reabciuk and Domagoj Vida, the referee awards a punishment from which AEK takes a 1–2 lead. Even refereeing analysts connected tv channels disposed against Olympiacos judged that determination was nary punishment astatine all.

To implicit 1 of the astir one-sided refereeing performances successful title history, Massa does not telephone a crystal-clear violative foul against AEK guardant Nordin Amrabat, who throws his hostile to the crushed with a wrestling-style determination earlier providing the assistance to Petros Mandalos for the latter’s goal, to marque the people 1–3. Olympiacos players aft the takedown practically stopped defending, expecting Massa’s whistle! That lucifer decided the title of that season!

And we present travel to Sunday’s lucifer astatine the Toumba Stadium successful Thessaloniki, with Simone Sozza, successful 1 of the astir hostile officiating performances successful a derby played by Olympiacos.

Sozza, with referee Luca Pairetto connected VAR, managed to grant a extremity that was a blatant offside, from which PAOK made it 1–0. In fact, the referee did not adjacent behaviour an on-field review. Let’s callback that conscionable a fewer days earlier, an identical extremity by Olympiacos successful the derby against AEK astatine the Karaiskakis Stadium was disallowed for offside.

Two identical instances wherever the goalkeeper is impeded, 2 diametrically other decisions that distort the playoff standings and yet the championship; successful a play that begins with an incorrect country fixed erstwhile it should person been a extremity kick.

Before PAOK’s 3–1, referee Sozza fails to spot an evident foul by PAOK guardant Zivković connected Olympiacos’ Kostinia, and Pairetto besides does not telephone him for an on-field review.

Equally egregious is the incidental wherever PAOK defender Baba targets Kostinia’s ankle astatine the borderline of PAOK’s container and wherever not adjacent a foul is given, adjacent though Kostinia is injured. A fewer minutes later, PAOK guardant Alexander Jeremejeff steps connected keeper Tzolakis’ ankle with his cleats, causing the Olympiacos goalkeeper to illness connected the tract for respective minutes successful pain, yet Sozza does not adjacent telephone a foul.

Another Italian successful a Greek Super League derby, different provocative and “surgically” mediocre show that apt decided a championship. Yet let’s repeat: a repeated coincidence ceases to beryllium a coincidence… Does Mr. Rosetti person immoderate remark connected this repeated signifier of behavior?