Why Bastoni should not face Italy punishment after Inter vs. Juventus chaos

It wasn’t a good look for Alessandro Bastoni  during Inter-Juventus when he caused and celebrated Pierre Kalulu’s red card, but it would be wrong to omit him from the Italy national team for this, writes Lorenzo Bettoni.

Why Bastoni should not face punishment with Italy national team

Some Italian fans and journalists called for Bastoni to be dropped from the Italy national team because of his behaviour in Inter-Juventus on Saturday. The Italy international not only deceived the referee with a dive that led to Kalulu’s second yellow card, but also wildly celebrated when the official showed the red.

Bastoni’s actions “didn’t align with the principles of fair play,” as Inter President Beppe Marotta has admitted, but this doesn’t mean the defender should be excluded from the Italy squad.

Several sources have already reassured that Gattuso will not take action, meaning that Bastoni will be part of the Italy squad next month when the Azzurri meet Northern Ireland in a vital World Cup play-off semi-final. Rightly so, I would say.

Again, what Bastoni did wasn’t nice to see, especially because we are talking about one of the best Italian players and one of the supposed leaders in the Azzurri dressing room, who should set the example rather than trying to cause even more confusion to the referee.

Sadly, Bastoni is not alone in this. Over the last few months, the quality of refereeing in Serie A has hit new lows one week after another, but match officials have not been helped by footballers in any way.

Every time, in every game, we see players going down in pain for the slightest touches, hoping that a VAR check would spot a step-on-foot and a resulting penalty. Too many times, footballers, especially in Serie A, overreact whenever an opponent goes for a challenge, hoping to cause whatever punishment.

VAR has surely caused more problems than those it has solved this term. It’s been overused far too much for minor incidents, but, ironically, the protocol didn’t allow it to intervene to save Kalulu from being sent off on Saturday, given that his foul was a second-yellow card offence.

The Bastoni incident has been blown out of proportion because of the scale of the game, but it should also be a turning point from which footballers have to show a different attitude towards referees by sticking to the principles of the game without unnecessary drama that only makes the game more toxic.

Bastoni should not be punished by Gattuso for something that everybody, wrongly, does. And this is even more true ahead of the most important Italy game in the last four years.

On March 26, the Azzurri will be hosting Northern Ireland in Bergamo in the World Cup play-off semi-final. If they progress, they’ll visit Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina in the final, and if the Azzurri are to qualify for the World Cup, they need their best players and unity.

Hopefully, Bastoni won’t get the tough reception that Gigio Donnarumma has sometimes experienced during Italy games in the past, especially in his first years at PSG. Club-related matters must be set aside during the next international break as Gennaro Gattuso will need unity on and off the pitch to avoid another World Cup fiasco.

Many Juventus fans won’t agree with this, but not even Juventus would want or need Bastoni to be dropped from the Italy squad. The Bianconeri didn’t hold back criticism towards Italian referees on Saturday, calling for immediate “change” but didn’t mention Bastoni directly during post-match interviews.

They know this sort of attitude is sadly part of the game sometimes, but referees should now have the tools to avoid affecting games so heavily.

Surely, Bastoni won’t be proud watching the replays of his dive and celebration, but he has a lesson to learn from this. Italian legends like Franco Baresi, Beppe Bergomi and Paolo Maldini earned the respect of their opponents, especially for the way they behaved on the pitch, and those who are now expected to lead the national team, such as Bastoni, must lead by example.

Moreover, there’s a lesson that all Serie A players should learn. The less that referee gets involved, the better it is for the game. Inter’s 2-2 draw against Napoli in January was one of the best games in Serie A this season, also because the match official, Daniele Doveri, rarely blew the whistle; only five times in the first half.

Too often, when an Italian team faces a Premier League side in Europe, we are shocked by the difference in the pace and intensity, which is also a consequence of how fragmented Serie A games are.

VAR has to change, players and referees must change too, but this doesn’t mean the Azzurri must go to a massive game without one of their best players.