Former Italian referee Luca Marelli analysed all the contentious moments in Inter’s goalless draw against Roma yesterday on his blog.
The first moment Marelli highlighted was in the 36th minute, when the Nerazzurri called for a penalty following a foul from Leonardo Spinazzola on Inter wing back Cristiano Biraghi.
The former referee suggested it was clearly outside the box and the contact wasn’t heavy enough to justify a penalty, so a good call by Gianpaolo Calvarese.
Then, in the 41st minute, there was a moment where Inter defender Stefan De Vrij collided with the referee by accident, which caused Calvarese to stop play, despite the fact that Roma were on a counterattack. Despite the counter, it was the correct decision to halt play so the referee can maintain his control of the game, Marelli highlights.
The 46th minute saw Lautaro Martinez get held by Roma’s Gianluca Mancini, which was initially called as an Inter free kick, before Calvarese changed his mind and awarded Roma the free kick instead, a curious decision according to Marelli.
The foul would have been called by the referee himself, considering that VAR wouldn’t have had time to analyse the contact, but clearly his decision was reversed after words with the assistant referee, who would have seen Lautaro use his hand.
Marelli then touches on the penalty call by Inter in the 67th minute. Lautaro Martinez’s shot was blocked by Spinazzola, with the ball bouncing up and striking the underside of his extended arm.
However, Marelli suggests it was the correct call not to award the penalty, as VAR clearly showed no intent by the Roma defender and the unpredictable nature of the ball in that moment was too quick for him to move his arm away. Another correct call by Calvarese.
The final moment Marelli spoke about was Lautaro’s fall in the box in the 87th minute. The Argentine forward hit the ground following a small fight for the ball with Mancini, although it was clearly not a penalty, especially considering Lautaro didn’t even protest for it.
Overall, Marelli highlights, Calvarese had a good game and managed to keep the game under control, whilst also making consistently correct decisions, except for the yellow card to Inter’s Diego Godin, which Marelli felt was a little harsh considering the distance from goal and lack of scoring threat.