Former Serie A referee Luca Marelli has shared his opinion on whether he thinks it was right for Stefan de Vrij to have a penalty awarded against him in last night’s Champions League match between Inter and Slavia Prague.
“de Vrij attempted to get to the ball before his opponent but ended up missing the ball completely and with his right leg, he collided with the left thigh of the Slavia Prague attacker. Was it a penalty? It was not a resounding penalty but it is anything but a non-existent one,” he wrote on his blog.
“Marciniak was advised to review the action and on the sideline monitor we saw the images of the contact between de Vrij and Olayinka. Following a brief review, the referee decided to grant the penalty kick and effectively cancel out the previous 23 seconds [a period in which Inter scored a goal]. The correct procedure was absolutely followed.”
