Cannavaro condemns the referee of the Milan - Napoli match

"The referee has a bad influence on the game," said Cannavaro, a defender who won the 2006 Ballon d'Or. "Initially, he didn't issue a card. Then he issued too many cards."

In the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League on the evening of April 12, referee Kovacs withdrew a total of 10 yellow cards. He penalized four cards against Milan, and six against Napoli. Including eight cards from the 60th minute.

Kovacs caused controversy over a number of unfavorable decisions for Napoli. Midfielder Andre Anguissa hit the ball in front of Theo Hernandez's chest, but received a yellow card after 74 minutes. Midfielder Kim Min-jae received a yellow card for a minor collision after 78 minutes. Anguissa and Kim both had to miss the game. second leg due to having received enough cards.

Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti thinks it is unfair for the two students to miss the second leg. He also compared a situation where another student, Zielinski had to receive a card and a situation where Milan player Krunic did not receive a card. He also mentioned a situation where another Milan player, Rafael Leao, kicked in the corner after missing an opportunity and was substituted, but was not penalized by the referee. "If it's about Kim, tell me about the message to the kids at home that you can throw a tantrum and break the corner if things don't go your way," Spalletti said angrily.

Milan players are also not happy about the referee. When demanding a penalty for the collision between Alexis Saelemaekers and Stanislav Lobotka, the home team received nothing but a yellow card to captain Davide Calabria. "I asked for an explanation and the fourth referee pushed me away," Calabria said. "I even got a yellow card. That card is completely stupid. If I can't talk to the referee as captain, who can?"

This match, Napoli controlled the ball and shot more towards the goal. However, the absence of main striker Victor Osimhen has become an unresolvable weakness of the visitors. Milan won with Ismael Bennacer's only goal in the 40th minute. Goalkeeper Mike Maignan also contributed greatly to Milan's victory with many saves. "I have to congratulate Maignan on his saves," Spalletti said. "We lost, but played the way I expected. The players performed very well."

Regarding the absence of Anguissa and Kim in the second leg, Spalletti confirmed Napoli will have a worthy replacement. The second leg will take place at Napoli stadium on April 18. Osimhen may recover in time.

The winner of the Milan - Napoli pair will advance to the semi-finals to meet the winner of the Inter - Benfica pair. In the first leg, Inter won 2-0 at Benfica. This result could lead to an all-Italy semi-final.