The VAR ‘should not have intervened’ for the penalty awarded to AC Milan against Fiorentina, confirmed the Italian Referees’ Association, as footage reveals what was discussed.
The incident caused a great deal of controversy and proved decisive for a 2-1 victory at San Siro on Sunday.
Referee Livio Marinelli had initially let play continue after Fabiano Parisi had a hand on Santiago Gimenez’s shoulder, but changed his mind and awarded a penalty after he was called over for the On-Field Review.
Many pundits noted that this was stretching ‘clear and obvious error’ to the absolute limit, and former referee Andrea De Marco agreed when analysing the footage on DAZN’s Open VAR programme.
Referee wrong to assign AC Milan penalty
“In this case, Marinelli had evaluated the situation correctly on the field and when the intensity is so small, the referee should be allowed to make that evaluation himself,” said AIA representative De Marco.
“With the threshold for penalties that Gianluca Rocchi is setting for this season, we would not give this as a penalty. If the referee had the sensation on the field that it was sufficient for a penalty, VAR would not have intervened to have it removed. Either way, this was a decision that was down to the referee.”
Fiorentina coach Stefano Pioli also said after the match that giving spot-kicks like this would reward the simulation of players, feeling that Gimenez had gone down clutching his face when the contact was barely on his neck.
“Gimenez does make a meal of that and we’ve seen a lot of this attitude from players this season, who when they feel a slight touch, pretend they suffered a violent impact,” added De Marco.
“Rocchi was very clear on this and the commission is studying how we can punish situations like this, because there has to be respect on the field.
“This kind of behaviour needs to be eliminated from the game. You will see a definite clampdown on similar situations from next weekend.”
Open VAR also allows DAZN to play the footage and audio that the VAR team discussed with the referee in order to reach a decision.
Immediately after the contact between Parisi and Gimenez, referee Marinelli is heard stating: “No, not for me. He has his arm raised, but that’s it…”
VAR Rosario Abisso and his assistant VAR Aleandro Di Paolo then discuss the footage.
“It’s in his face and he feels it too. It is a gratuitous gesture, first he gets him in the face, then he holds on to him too. Parisi is the player, I recommend an On-Field Review for penalty.
You can see the hand on the face and there is a tug as well. As there is a blow to the face, it can also warrant a disciplinary sanction.”
Full disclosure, I’m a Milan supporter but at the end of the day, the defenders arm should not be raised that high, Parisi is obviously trying to limit Gimenez from getting to the ball as he’s behind him. The weight of the touch on Gimenez’s face and attempted pull back on his neck is debatable, but had this happened outside the box it would have been a definite foul. Earlier, Fofana lightly hit Ranieri the face by accident and this was punished with a yellow card, is this not similar, considering there is an actual attempt to stop a player from reaching the ball? Saying that VAR should not have intervened is a stupid thing to say. End of the day, they have more angles and the ability to replay footage which the referee cannot, so they did the correct thing and advised the referee what they saw and that he should review it. If it wasn’t substantial, the referee could have disagreed at that time. I think this is precisely how VAR should be used, by alerting the referee more often if they spot something, the referee hasn’t.
Yes, let’s award a penalty for every dive in the box on minimal contact. They we can have an exciting high scoring league that’s the envy of the world.
@giblet..interfan. lol
If the referee could uphold his earlier decision after a VAR review, then it should be ok for VAR to alert the referee and let the referee decide.
The Fofana hit drew blood. Big difference
The league Favouring AC Milan? …no way ! sarc