MN: Refereeing authorities confirm Pulisic’s goal should have stood vs. Sassuolo

For the umpteenth time this season, AC Milan are the subject of refereeing controversy, dominating the media headlines.

As MilanNews recall, the match was certainly full of dubious decisions, even to the detriment of Sassuolo, but what could we expect from a referee like Valerio Crezzini, taking charge of his first ever game at San Siro?

Not even two minutes into the game, the referee had already lost control of things by failing to book Alexis Saelemaekers for a rather nasty late foul on Muharemovic. From that point on, it was a matter of guessing how the game would go, with a lot of inconsistency in calling fouls.

The turning point?

Obviously, the episode that sparked the most discussion on the Milan side was Christian Pulisic’s disallowed goal in the second half  Crezzini spotted a push from Ruben Loftus-Cheek on Candé, who seemed to make a meal of a slight touch.

The decision was completely wrong, as confirmed by Luca Marelli, who spoke in the DAZN studios and said: “It leaves a lot of doubt. The goal was disallowed for a push by Loftus-Cheek on Candé. The referee allows the play to be completed and then blows the whistle.

#MilanSassuolo | al 58’ annullata a #Pulisic la rete del 3-1 (📸 DAZN): sia sul cross iniziale sia sulla torre di Pavlovic le posizioni sono regolari, e il contatto di Loftus-Cheeck / Candé non è appunto più di un contatto; ci sono sì due mani sulla schiena, ma in dinamica si… pic.twitter.com/7Pw4obMziA

— Denis Errori Arbitrali (@erroriarbitrali) December 14, 2025

“It’s an on-field dynamic, VAR can’t intervene. There was contact, Loftus puts his hands on the Sassuolo player, but I don’t see any push. Considering that Crezzini didn’t call much, 24 fouls, this is way below the threshold.

“He simply put his hands on his back: in my opinion, this goal shouldn’t have been disallowed. There was also no offside to report.”

Further supporting Marelli’s thesis and the anger of the Milan fans is the position of the main refereeing officials of the AIA, according to whom Pulisic’s goal was fine, and therefore should not have been disallowed.