Italian Media Critical of Koulibaly After Red Card Against Benevento

Defender Kalidou Koulibaly picked up two yellow cards in the match against Benevento in the 81st minute. The dismissal was noted by several Italian publications that criticized the player’s decisions.

Kalidou Koulibaly may generally be viewed as one of the top defenders in Serie A, but his red card against Benevento could have implications over the way the player is perceived in the football community.

Gazzetto dello Sport goes on to note that Koulibaly received a second yellow card in spite of his team attacking and being two goals up. The esteemed sports publication is surprised that a player of his experience would make such an error.

The same paper also writes about how Koulibaly’s performance was shaky throughout the match, and that Benevento’s attackers could have done better to pick up space around the defender.

Repubblica is also highly critical of the player, writing that his dismissal happened after a pointless foul. The paper does go on to congratulate Amir Rrahmani, Faouzi Ghoulam, and Giovanni Di Lorenzo, Napoli’s other defenders.

Koulibaly’s poor performance is something of an anomaly from a player highly courted by teams such as Manchester United and Bayern Munchen. This is, however, the third red card that the defender has earned since joining the Naples side.