Joel Obi Might Not Be Excited About The Referee For England Vs Nigeria Friendly

Published: June 01, 2018

Torino star Joel Obi might not be excited about the appointment of Italian Marco Guida as the referee for the international friendly between England and Nigeria on Saturday.

Since the central midfielder made his Serie A debut in October 2010, he has been shown fourteen yellow cards and Guida, who is a commercial consultant, has cautioned him twice.

Obi was yellow carded by Guida in the 83rd minute of Inter Milan's 4-4 draw with Palermo in an Italian topflight game on February 1, 2012, sixteen minutes after he came off the bench.

On November 23, 2014, in the Milan derby between the Rossoneri and Nerazzurri, Obi was the first Inter player booked by Guida in the 32nd minute as they played out a 1-1 draw with their city rivals.

The 36-year-old Marco Guida sent off Rangers defender Bruno Alves in England's 1-0 win over Portugal at Wembley two years ago.

Guida will be assisted by compatriots Riccardo Di Fiore and Alessandro Giallatini (Assistant Referees) and Davide Massa (Fourth Official), as well as Michael Fabbri (Video Assistant Referee) and Giulio Dobosz (Assistant Video Assistant Referee) in the Super Eagles penultimate pre-World Cup friendly.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel