Italian former referee Luca Marelli believes that the penalty awarded to Juventus in Inter’s match against them yesterday evening was soft and that the foul was debatable.
Speaking to Italian broadcaster Radio 24, the former official outlined his view that the decision by VAR to intervene was questionable given the fact that the contact barely looked to be enough to be considered a foul.
Inter wing-back Denzel Dumfries made contact with the foot of Juventus left-back Alex Sandro with a clumsy tackle on the edge of Inter’s penalty area, with referee Maurizio Mariani initially waving play on.
However, VAR advised the official to have another look at the incident, and given that there was contact and it was within the area he made the decision to award the spot kick from which the Bianconeri equalized.
Marelli, however, isn’t so sure, and feels that the coming together was on the borderline of being something that could be considered a foul.
“What puzzles me is that this type of contact is considered an infringement,” he stated. “In my opinion in Italy there are too many penalties. The contact is there and it is obvious that the penalty is granted if you are called by VAR to review it. The point is… is that a foul?”
