Football Italia’s transfer expert Alfredo Pedullà examines referee controversies from Torino-Cremonese and Parma-Lazio and criticises the reported proposal to reschedule a big game from Round 30 by just 45 minutes.

Pedullà’s latest video for Football Italia on YouTube touches on several issues in Serie A, including referee controversies in Torino-Cremonese and Parma-Lazio.

Cremonese were not given a penalty kick despite a clear Simeone handball, a kind of incident that previously led to opposite decisions from the referee and VAR.

“They need to explain how this works, because it can’t go on like this,” Pedullà said.

“VAR unplagged itself and decided not to intervene; that’s not a penalty! So they need to guide us on all the other situations that, in the same circumstances, should not be penalties either.”

The Italian pundit also praised Cremonese coach Davide Nicola for the sportsmanship shown in post-match interviews.

Pedullà also criticised the latest proposal, which appeared in the Italian media, to potentially postpone a big game of Round 30 by just 45 minutes in order to give Gennaro Gattuso more rested players for the World Cup play-off in March.

Maurizio Sarri joked Lazio might just ‘start with 10 men’ next time after beating Parma with two players sent off. ‘We won with 8 against 10 once…’

The Aquile had a very poor away record, so things weren’t looking good for them when Mattia Zaccagni was shown a straight red card for his mistimed lunge on Nahuel Estevez just before half-time.

It got even worse at the 77^th minute when Toma Basic was also sent off, this time for elbowing Estevez in the ribs during an off the ball incident.

However, Lazio grabbed the victory when down to nine men against 11 at the Stadio Tardini when Tijjani Noslin robbed a defender, dribbled around the goalkeeper and deposited into an empty net.

Sarri impressed with Lazio attitude

“This win can give us enthusiasm, but I think the lads had already begun to believe more from the end of September,” Sarri told DAZN.

“We were two men down today, but if we look at the game overall, the victory is fully deserved. The team is improving both in terms of mentality and the performances on the field.

“I said that I was enjoying myself with this squad and I stand by that. Have I ever won 9 against 11? Actually I was coaching during Entella-Figline when we won with 8 against 10…”

Lazio have received three red cards in the last two games, as Mario Gila was sent off in the 1-1 draw with Bologna.

“We were down to 10 men against Bologna last week and didn’t lose our organisation then either. I saw the same thing today, even if with two players sent off it’s more complicated,” continued Sarri.

“I introduced players off the bench who were suited to these situations. For example, Oliver Provstgaard gave us a big hand.”

The double red card means both Zaccagni and Basic will be suspended for the next Serie A match against Cremonese, but at least Mario Gila will be back, as he sat out a ban today.

Gil Patric also got his first start in nine months and impressed in defence.

“Unfortunately, we’re getting used to these situations. If we’ve got 11 players available, then we’ll start them, otherwise we’ll just start with 10 and save time,” laughed Sarri.

There are some question marks over both the straight red cards, as while Zaccagni’s challenge was very clumsy, he didn’t make full contact on the Nahuel Estevez shin.

“I don’t think he really gets him at all, as he connects with the ankle and not the studs. It feels a bit much. I realise it doesn’t give a good impression seen at full speed, but the red seems harsh.”

Lazio managed to grab a rare away victory with Tijjani Noslin’s late goal against Parma despite being down to nine men, with Mattia Zaccagni and Toma Basic sent off.

The Biancocelesti were slipping down the table after one point from two rounds, albeit very tough fixtures against Milan and Bologna. Gustav Isaksen joined Samuel Gigot and Nicolò Rovella on the injury list, with Mario Gila suspended. Parma missed Abdoulaye Ndiaye, Alessandro Circati, Zion Suzuki and Matija Frigan. There was a special patch on their shirts for the upcoming 112^th anniversary of the club’s foundation.

See how it all unfolded on the Liveblog.

Matteo Cancellieri stung goalkeeper Edoardo Corvi’s gloves at the near post in the opening minutes, but at the other end Adrian Bernabé tested Ivan Provedel from the edge of the area.

Taty Castellanos was a yard out ready to nod in the Adam Marusic knockdown from a free kick when Nahuel Estevez cleared it practically off the line.

Toma Basic’s free kick was just over the bar, then his strike on a Mattia Zaccagni assist forced a desperate save out of Corvi.

The game changed just before half-time when Mattia Zaccagni went lunging into a late and high challenge in midfield on Estevez and the referee opted for a straight red card.

Enrico Delprato went off injured, but Mateo Pellegrino again tested Provedel straight after the restart, while Adrian Bernabe blasted over under pressure from Luca Pellegrini.

Lazio received a second red card for violent conduct when Basic was spotted by the referee elbowing Estevez in the ribs during an off the ball incident, reducing them to nine men.

Incredibly, the Aquile still took the lead even though they were two men down. Noslin caught Lautaro Valenti napping on the edge of the area, then kept his cool to dribble around Corvi and fire into the empty net as a Parma player tried to get back on the line.

Provedel performed a fantastic one-handed reaction save moments later, readjusting to deal with the deflection and palm the Estevez screamer out from under the bar. On the resulting corner, Pellegrino’s acrobatic attempt flashed wide.

Parma 0-1 Lazio

Noslin 82 (L)

Sent off: Zaccagni 42 (L), Basic 77 (L)

13-12-2025 17:00

MatchDay 15

Parma Store (Stadio Ennio Tardini)

Parma

Lazio

0 - 1

Player statistic

1st half

42'

Mattia Zaccagni

2nd half

Emanuele Valeri		51'
		62'		Matteo Cancellieri
Nahuel Estévez		77'
		77'		Toma Basic
		82'		Tijjani Noslin (Assist: Danilo Cataldi)

Match statistic

47

Possession %

53

19

Total shots

15

5

Shots on target

5

9

Shots off target

6

5

Blocked shots

4

4

Corners

4

2

Offsides

0

14

Fouls

8

Parma

Lazio

Starting lineups

40

Edoardo Corvi

Goalkeeper

14

Emanuele Valeri

Defender

15

Enrico Delprato

Defender

46'

5

Lautaro Valenti

Defender

27

Sascha Britschgi

Defender

10

Adrián Bernabé

Midfielder

21

Gaetano Oristanio

Midfielder

70'

16

Mandela Keita

Midfielder

86'

8

Nahuel Estévez

Midfielder

7

Adrian Benedyczak

Attacker

76'

9

Mateo Pellegrino

Attacker

94

Ivan Provedel

Goalkeeper

77

Adam Marusic

Defender

13

Alessio Romagnoli

Defender

3

Luca Pellegrini

Defender

4

Patric

Defender

70'

32

Danilo Cataldi

Midfielder

88'

8

Mattéo Guendouzi

Midfielder

26

Toma Basic

Midfielder

22

Matteo Cancellieri

Attacker

70'

10

Mattia Zaccagni

Attacker

11

Taty Castellanos

Attacker

70'

Substitutes

23

Hernani

Midfielder

66

Filippo Rinaldi

Goalkeeper

22

Oliver Sörensen

Midfielder

18

Mathias Løvik

Midfielder

11

Pontus Almqvist

Attacker

19

Tjas Begic

Attacker

63

Nicolas Trabucchi

Defender

25

Benja Cremaschi

Midfielder

24

Christian Ordoñez

Midfielder

13

Vicente Guaita

Goalkeeper

37

Mariano Troilo

Defender

46'

17

Jacob Ondrejka

Attacker

70'

32

Patrick Cutrone

Attacker

76'

30

Milan Djuric

Attacker

86'

9

Pedro

Attacker

29

Manuel Lazzari

Defender

55

Alessio Furlanetto

Goalkeeper

17

Nuno Tavares

Defender

19

Boulaye Dia

Attacker

21

Reda Belahyane

Midfielder

35

Christos Mandas

Goalkeeper

14

Tijjani Noslin

Attacker

70'

7

Fisayo Dele-Bashiru

Midfielder

70'

25

Oliver Provstgaard

Defender

70'

5

Matías Vecino

Midfielder

88'

{rsn-live-v2}

Check out the probable line-ups and latest team news for Saturday’s three Serie A matches: Torino vs. Cremonese, Parma vs. Lazio and Atalanta vs. Cagliari.

Serie A Round 15 started on Friday with Lecce’s 1-0 win over Pisa at the Stadio Via Del Mare.

Today, Saturday, December 13, there are three more matches: Torino vs. Cremonese at 15:00 CET (14:00 GMT), Parma vs. Lazio at 18:00 CET and Atalanta vs. Cagliari at 20:45 CET.

Torino vs. Cremonese

Torino (3-5-2): Israel; Ismajli, Maripan, Coco; Pedersen, Casadei, Asllani, Vlasic, Lazaro; Simeone, Adams.

Unavailable: Schuurs

Cremonese (3-5-2): Audero; Terracciano, Baschirotto, Bianchetti; Barbieri, Payero, Bondo, Vandeputte, Pezzella; Bonazzoli, Vardy.

Unavailable: Collocolo, Faye, Grassi, Sarmiento, Folino

Watch on TV: Paramount+ in the USA

Parma vs. Lazio

Parma (3-4-2-1): Corvi; Delprato, Troilo, Valenti; Britschgi, Bernabé, Keita, Valeri; Benedyczak, Ondrejka; Pellegrino.

Unavailable: Frigan, Circati, Suzuki, Ndiaye

Lazio (4-3-3): Provedel; Marusic, Patric, Romagnoli, Lu. Pellegrini; Guendouzi, Cataldi, Basic; Cancellieri, Castellanos, Zaccagni.

Unavailable: Rovella, Gigot, Isaksen, Gila (suspended)

Watch on TV: DAZN in the UK and Ireland, Paramount+ in the USA

Atalanta vs. Cagliari

Atalanta (3-4-2-1):  Carnesecchi; Kossounou, Hien, Djimsiti; Zappacosta, De Roon, Ederson, Zalewski; De Ketelaere, Lookman; Scamacca.

Unavailable: Sulemana, Bellanova, Bakker

Cagliari (3-5-2): Caprile; Zappa, Luperto, Rodriguez; Palestra, Adopo, Deiola, Folorunsho, Obert: Esposito, Borrelli.

Unavailable: Belotti, Ze Pedro, Felici, Mina

Watch on TV: DAZN in the UK and Ireland, Paramount+ in the USA

Serie A table

Reports in Italy claim that Milan midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek is considering the possibility of a move away from San Siro during the January transfer window to boost his chances of being selected in Thomas Tuchel’s England World Cup squad. 

Could Loftus-Cheek leave Milan in January?

The former Chelsea midfielder has been a valuable role player under Massimiliano Allegri this season, featuring in a number of different roles including a brief stint in the attacking line of a 3-5-2 in the absence of Rafael Leao earlier this season. 

But, despite being called up to the England national team squad in October, Loftus-Cheek has struggled for opportunities as a starter in Milan following the signings of Luka Modric, Adrien Rabiot and Samuele Ricci over the summer. 

The Englishman started all of Milan’s first three league matches of the season, but has only started one of their 11 league games since then. 

With Milan not involved in European competition this season, and having also been knocked out of the Coppa Italia, Serie A is currently Loftus-Cheek’s only chance of minutes in the Milan line-up. 

Now, according to reports from Calciomercato.com, Loftus-Cheek is considering the possibility of leaving Milan in January in order to increase his game time ahead of the World Cup in the summer. 

There have been suggestions that Napoli could be poised to offer a temporary solution, given that they are in the midst of a midfield injury crisis with Kevin De Bruyne, Stanislav Lobotka, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Billy Gilmour all currently unavailable. 

There had been reports over the summer that Lazio were also interested, but it remains to be seen whether they will make an approach during the winter window. 

Calciomercato claims that there have also been enquiries from a number of unspecified Premier League clubs, and that there could also be potential opportunities for Loftus-Cheek in the Bundesliga. 

Reports in Italy suggest that Sassuolo striker Andrea Pinamonti has attracted interest from Milan, Lazio and West Ham for the January transfer window.

Italian striker Pinamonti could leave Sassuolo next month, according to Calciomercato.com and Goal.com.

Both Italian media outlets claim that the 26-year-old, scorer of four goals in 14 Serie A appearances this season, has attracted interest from Milan, Lazio and West Ham.

Pinamonti could leave Sassuolo in January

The Hammers had already been linked with Pinamonti last summer.

West Ham are very much involved in Italian transfer news today, as Gazzetta reported in the morning that Niclas Fullkrug wants to leave the London-based club next month.

According to the pink paper, Milan are among the clubs monitoring the German centre-forward.

Calciomercato.com reports that Pinamonti could leave Sassuolo on an initial loan deal with an obligation to buy in the January transfer window.

The Italian striker already spent the 2024-25 season on loan at Genoa and returned to Sassuolo after their promotion to Serie A.