Ademola Lookman avoided any punishment for a horrible challenge on AC Milan midfielder, Youssouf Fofana and has caused supporters to question the referees in Serie A.
Why Was Ademola Lookman Not Sent Off Against AC Milan?
The Atalanta star scored his first goal of the season during La Dea’s 1-1 stalemate with AC Milan, but Lookman’s return to the score-sheet was not the main talking point.
Lookman, who is still being heavily targeted by Europe’s elite after a turbulent summer, appeared to make a harmless foul on Fofana, however, the replays showed that the Nigerian international’s challenge was worse than believed.
Initially, Lookman appeared to have stepped on the AC Milan midfielder’s foot, but in reality the Atalanta star had raised his foot above the ankle and connected with Fofana’s shin.
After seeing the tackle in slow-motion, supporters were expecting the Video Assistant Referee to take a deeper look and ask the lead official, Daniele Doveri, to review the challenge.
However, the Italian match official did not take any further action and Lookman managed to avoid any punishment for the challenge.
The International Football Association Board (IFAB) are responsible for the rules and regulations for match officials in Serie A, which covers the criteria for a red card.
One area that is viewed to be worthy of a red card by the IFAB is serious foul play and is defined as:
“A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.”
The challenge by Lookman on Fofana certainly fulfills this definition and brings another question over the standard of referees in Serie A.
So Lookman going in with a studs up challenge above the ankle isn’t a red card anymore? And VAR didn’t even think it was worth a look? The inconsistency with VAR is wild. Of course Lookman goes on to score a goal 10 minutes after this when he should have been sent off. pic.twitter.com/ns4nhEfH7K
— randyham (@BigRandyHam) October 28, 2025
Where Does Serie A Rank For Red Cards In Europe?
So far in Serie A this season there have been 11 red cards after eight matchdays, which is one of the lowest in Europe for the 2025/26 season so far.
Only the Premier League has seen less sending offs this season, as England’s top division has handed out 10 red cards after also playing eight matchdays.
The Bundesliga is not too far ahead of the aforementioned leagues, with Germany seeing 15 red cards after GW8, but these numbers start to rise in France and Spain.
Ligue 1 enters MD10 on October 29th and the previous nine have brought 23 red cards so far, with Lille, Nantes and PSG being the only sides to avoid a sending off so far.
Interestingly, the league with the most red cards in the 2025/26 season so far comes from Spain, as La Liga has seen 29 dismissals – with each team playing 10 matches.
Girona have been the biggest culprit as to why this tally has reached the heights it has already, as the La Liga side have received five red cards this season and this is the most out of any team in Europe’s top five leagues.
The run of red cards in 2025/26 is following a similar trend to last season, as La Liga saw the most sending offs with 78, Serie A ranked second with 69, Ligue 1 was just behind with 66, the Bundesliga had 55 dismissals and the Premier League only saw 52.
Red Cards In Serie A (Last 5 Seasons)
Per ESPN
- 2024/25: 69
- 2023/24: 68
- 2022/23: 69
- 2021/22: 93
- 2020/21: 69
Is The Standard Of Referees In Serie A Dropping?
Being a match official at the elite level of soccer is not an easy task, with referees facing huge abuse each week and having to make decisions that could dictate a teams’ season.
Two Serie A officials have been selected to oversee matches in the Champions League group stage so far, which is less than the three from the Premier League and equal to the number of referees from La Liga.
Daniele Doveri’s decision to keep Ademola Lookman on the pitch comes after a recent surge in refereeing controversy, after Maurizio Mariani was demoted to Serie B after his performance in Napoli’s 3-1 win over Inter Milan.
Mariani reportedly left Italian referee designator, Gianluca Rocchi, furious for awarding a penalty to Napoli over a ‘slight’ contact and missing a clear handball by Napoli defender, Alessandro Buongiorno.
Another decision that reverberated around Serie A came during Juventus’ 1-0 defeat to Lazio, as Weston McKennie avoided a second-yellow card.
The USMNT midfielder, who is looking to revive his Juventus career, was already on a booking before committing another foul on Matteo Guendouzi and somehow avoided another caution.
The standard of referees in Serie has been called into question long before the recent controversy involving Ademola Lookman, with the Calciopoli scandal having a huge impact on the perception of match officials in Italy.
The opening stages of the 2025/26 campaign have amplified this concern hugely – with Rocchi needing to make public statements over key decisions.
