Referee Fabio Maresca has been praised for refusing to award Roma a second half penalty in their 2-0 defeat to Inter in Serie A yesterday afternoon.
This according to today’s print edition of Milan-based daily newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, as reported via Milan based Inter Milan news-site FCInter1908.
According to the report, Maresca was correct in dismissing Roma’s claims for a spotkick when Matteo Darmian appeared to handle an Edoardo Bove cross with the Lupi chasing an equaliser at 1-0.
Darmian was judged to have been in a natural position as he sought to block the cross and so had not committed a handball offence, although there are suggestions that Roma ought to have been given a penalty late on when Francesco Acerbi pulled Paulo Dybala’s shirt.
Overall, Maresca’s performance was not considered to be strong enough and the newspaper claimed that he lost control of the match with a flurry of yellow cards, whilst also failing to book Hakan Calhanoglu despite two challenges deemed worthy of a caution.
