It was the nineteenth day of Milan’s Championship season of 1954/55, and the end of Bela Guttmann’s time with the Rossoneri. The result of the game that day was against Sampdoria resulting in a loss of 3-1, with the Hungarian as coach. Milan’s executives accused him of a drop in the team’s performance that jeopardized to the possibility of winning another league title. There was no turning back, but no shortage of justifications coming from Guttmann either. He had to cope with several team player injuries and Schiaffino’s long term suspension.
Schiaffino, the Uruguayan national player, was sent off January 26th of 1956 during a home game against Bigogno’s Udinese. The game was tricky and ended in a 2-2 draw. The Udinese players had given it their all, and it was considered to be a good game overall. The Rossoneri on the other hand, were very dismissive toward the referee, they thought he went too easy on Udinese and did not call out enough penalties for their dangerous plays. This is where things went too far, whereby in a fit of rage, Schiaffino approached referee Corallo and gave the gesture of rubbing his index finger with his thumb, as if to say: “You were paid off!” Immediately the red card was lifted and the long term suspension (six games) was officiated by the referee.
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