Milanese referee Sozza will officiate Inter vs. Milan – his record with both teams

Simone Sozza, who was born in Milan, will officiate the Derby della Madonnina between AC Milan and Inter tomorrow. Looking at his record, it seems to be a pretty fair decision. 

The Milan derby is definitely one of the hardest games to officiate in Italy. The outcome means a tremendous amount to the fans, not to mention the players, which often results in a lot of tension on the pitch. On top of that, you know that every decision will be heavily scrutinised.

As such, some perhaps raised their eyebrows when they saw that AIA had named Simone Sozza as the referee for Sunday’s encounter. Why? Because the 38-year-old was born and raised in Milan. As a general rule, referees from the same cities tend to be avoided.

The head designator Gianluca Rocchi, however, made it clear that such rules are old-fashioned and that AIA like to look at the quality of the referee instead. The latter is also why Sozzo was chosen for such an important game, but how has he done with both teams?

Sozza’s record with Milan and Inter

Starting with Milan, Sozza has officiated seven games involving them, with the Rossoneri winning four and losing three. As for Inter, the referee also has seven games under his belt, but the Nerazzurri have six wins and one defeat.

Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images

Milan have been handed two penalties by the referee, as opposed to Inter’s three, while none of the clubs have received a red card from Sozza. The last game with the Rossoneri was the 2-1 defeat to Napoli in March, while the last with Inter was the 3-0 win against Fiorentina in October.

Here’s the kicker: Sozza has already officiated two Milan derbies. First the 5-1 win for Inter in the league, then the 3-2 win for Milan in the Supercoppa Italia final. All things considered, as such, Rocchi seems to be right in his assessment.