Former Lazio midfielder Marco Parolo believes that Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni was unfortunate to concede a penalty in the clash between the Biancocelesti and the Nerazzurri yesterday.

Speaking to DAZN after the match, Parolo gave the view that the handball committed by the 22-year-old was the result of a normal position for his arm while jumping, and suggested that referees should get better at dealing with such incidents.

Inter were trying to see out the match against Lazio with a 1-0 lead during the second half at the Stadio Olimpico, but it was the spot kick awarded for Bastoni’s handball that sparked the Biancocelesti’s comeback.

There was no doubt that the ball made contact with the Inter player’s arm and so there were few grounds for the decision to be reversed, but in Parolo’s eyes the penalty is harsh and represents a wider trend of such decisions being made against defenders.

“Bastoni jumps and cannot do anything but have his arm there,” the former midfielder explained. “It is an arm that must necessarily stay there, in recent years there has been a lack of communication between referees and players.”

He went on that “Referees should make a case study and then explain to the players how you have to jump while in the penalty area. A lost war.”