AC Milan 'file formal complaint to UEFA over referee Cuneyt Cakir' after defeat to Atletico Madrid

AC Milan are set to file a complaint to UEFA about the performance of referee Cuneyt Cakir in their recent 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Milan got off to a dream start in their first Champions League game back at San Siro since 2014 when Rafael Leao gave them the lead in the 20th minute but they were soon rocked when midfielder Franck Kessie was shown a second booking in the 29th and then sent off.

Atletico managed to equalise  through Antoine Griezmann then won a late penalty which Luis Suarez converted to win the game, deepening Milan's anger with Turkish official Cakir.

And the club are making a formal complaint about Cakir, according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Milan were angry with the decision to send Kessie off but were even more incensed at the late penalty awarded against Pierre Kalulu for handball after the ball had struck the arm of Atletico midfielder Thomas Lemar.

Above all, they felt the play should have gone to a VAR review which would have led to the decision being overturned.

Former Italian referee Gianluca Paparesta believes Cakir made a big mistake, which could end up preventing Milan from qualifying out of Group B, which also contains Liverpool and Porto.

'I did not understand the reasons why the Turkish referee did not even go for a VAR review,' he told radio station TMW.

'When a decisive penalty is awarded, the referee and the VAR must ensure that there are no flaws in the decision.

'You can see Lemar's touch before that of Kalulu, a voluntary move towards the ball.

'The referee should have intervened and not given the penalty kick. This result can cost Milan's place.'

Milan are not the first club to take issue with Cakir's refereeing style.

He famously sent Manchester United's Nani off in a last-16 second leg game with Real Madrid at Old Trafford in March 2013.

United were leading 1-0 through a Sergio Ramos own goal when Nani challenged for the ball and accidentally kicked Alvaro Arbeloa in the chest.

Cakir shocked the Old Trafford faithful by producing a straight red card and Madrid, coached by Jose Mourinho, went on to win the game 2-1 and progress to the quarter-finals, denying Alex Ferguson the chance of winning Europe's top competition again before retiring.

Cakir's reputation did not suffer from the decision, however.

He refereed a 2014 World Cup semi-final between the Netherlands and Argentina and a year later took charge of the 2015 Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus in Berlin.