The Italian midfielder had previously had an altercation with Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers who is in charge of the final clash of the EURO 2020 between Italy and England
28-year-old Italian International feels that there is bad blood between him and the referee who has been a part of previous meetings which Verratti is not so fond of. He also claims that the Dutch referee used cursed words against him in the semi-final between Manchester City and PSG.
Euro 2020 Final England vs Italy: Marco Verratti’s Squabble With Referee Bjorn Kuipers
The whole PSG camp thinks that the referee was biased in that match between City and PSG and even protested some of his decisions on the field. Italian midfielder hopes that everything is in the past and feels that the final should be officiated fairly.
Verratti said, “The referee also told me ‘f*** you’ twice. For them it’s normal, if you say that it’s ten matches [ban]. I talk a lot to the referee but I don’t say that.”
PSG manager Mauricio Pochettino insisted that Kuipers should be investigated over the incident which cost them a place in the finals of the UEFA Champions League. UEFA never pursued this matter with any further investigation, and Kuipers still remains highly regarded in the game, as evidenced by him being given such an important match to officiate.
The Italian international feels that there should be some amount of regulation when the referee uses curse words as when a player abuses a referee, they are handed over a ban of a few matches and a very considerable amount of fine. Whereas referees get away with anything.
Verratti looked worried as the match will be played at Wembley and the hostile English crowd will surely put pressure on the referee which will manipulate some of his decisions like England getting a very soft penalty in the semi-finals against Denmark.
He hopes that none of the decisions will be in the favour of England and if there are any, we are sure that Verratti will protest them on the field. His loud personality on the pitch and leadership qualities will be witnessed in the final clash of the EURO 2020 between Italy and England at Wembley stadium.