Alessandro Del Piero, speaking as a pundit in Sky’s studios, gave his thoughts on the controversial sending-off of Pierre Kalulu during the first half of Inter-Juventus — a decision that sparked debate among fans and analysts alike.
The former Juventus captain analysed the episode that saw the French defender dismissed in the 42nd minute, calling the decision “unjust” and urging referees to slow down their decision-making process in key moments.
“Until the red card,” Del Piero began, “it was a very balanced match. It was a completely even game that would have been decided by an individual moment if things had gone normally. For me, these aren’t even fouls — you can only see it on the replay. I don’t want to blame the referee, but from the replay, you can see that Kalulu pulls back; he doesn’t want to commit a foul.”
The Juventus legend went on to discuss the broader issue of refereeing habits in modern football: “In today’s game, we know that almost anything is called as a foul, but in this situation, there needs to be a broader understanding of what’s actually happened. What I’ve always tried to convey to referees is that they should take a few more seconds before booking a player. Instead, you see them running from 25 metres away with the card already in hand.”
Del Piero’s comments highlighted how fast decisions can sometimes escalate tension on the pitch: “They should take those few extra seconds to replay the action in their head — to re-evaluate the dynamics of the moment. Generally, there are situations where, as a referee, you have to reconsider what has just happened. You need to take in the moment — those ten extra seconds can help you analyse what’s really going on. Not being in such a hurry would definitely help referees. When a referee runs over like that, it only makes the atmosphere more nervous on the pitch.”
