Referee Federico La Penna did a good job officiating Inter’s tense 2-1 victory over Bologna last night, according to a report from today’s paper edition of the Rome based newspaper Corriere dello Sport.
The report details how La Penna was reliable and authoritative, making safe and mostly correct decisions throughout the game. Both of Inter’s disallowed goals in the first half were the right call, and despite not giving a penalty for the foul on Valentino Lazaro, the one given to Lautaro Martinez made up for it.
The penalty called in the dying minutes of the game was correct, the report continues. Bologna forward Riccardo Orsolini made a sloppy challenge on the 22-year-old Argentinian striker, which La Penna correctly decided was a penalty.
Furthermore, the report adds, the decision whether to award a penalty or not to Lazaro when he was fouled by Rossoblu defender Mattia Bani was difficult, but the call was contentious and could have gone either way.
Finally, the two disallowed Inter goals were both the correct call, the report suggests. Lautaro Martinez’s goal started with a movement that saw the Argentine slightly offside when the ball was played from Romelu Lukaku. Then, in the second disallowed goal, the ball left the pitch slightly before Lazaro played the cross to the 26-year-old Belgian striker, with a VAR check confirming the fault.