Luigi Garlando has voiced his opinion on the controversy that came from the 3-3 draw involving Fiorentina and Inter at the weekend.
Deep in to stoppage time, Federico Chiesa tried to cross the ball into the box but it came off the chest of Inter defender Danilo D’Ambrosio.
Referee Rosario Abisso instead believed it hit his arm and despite taking several minutes reviewing it again with thanks to VAR, he upheld his decision.
“The non-existent penalty assigned to Fiorentina has been seen by many as the end of the electronic referee’s innocence,” he said to Gazzetta dello Sport.
“The ball hits the chest, which the whole world has recognised as such and it turned into a penalty because a single person, the referee, has perceived it to have hit his arm instead.
“VAR did it’s job but Abisso did not,” he continued.
“With VAR it can happen that a referee’s decision is overturned three times in one game, all three decisions had an affect on Fiorentina in Sunday’s match.
“A referee needs to have the strength and the personality to correct his errors. If they are making decisions due to being afraid and wanting to be more friendly, they need to reconsider their professional vocation, it would be like a surgeon being scared of blood or a judge getting intimidated.”
