Former Serie A referee Luca Marelli feels that there was no reason to disallow Inter Milan’s goal against Juventus yesterday.

Speaking on Italian broadcaster DAZN, via FCInterNews, Marelli dismissed suggestions that the goal shouldn’t have stood due to a possible foul on Federico Chiesa in the buildup.

Inter scored their equalizer just after the half-hour mark yesterday.

It was Nerazzurri captain Lautaro Martinez who continued his blazing start to the season, cancelling out the advantage that Dusan Vlahovic had given Juventus just minutes earlier.

Inter played the ball from back to front in a flash.

Keeper Yann Sommer found Nicolo Barella, who in turn moved the ball on to Marcus Thuram.

The Frenchman stole a march on Bianconeri defender Bremere to find Martinez with a cross. And from there the Argentine made no mistake.

But there was a hint of controversy regarding an incident a bit before the goal.

Inter defender Matteo Darmian challenged for the ball with Juventus forward Chiesa. The Bianconeri played went down holding his face following the clash of Italian international.

Darmian pleaded his innocence, indicating that there was no arm to Chiesa’s face.

And evidently match official Marco Guida agreed with the Inter player.

And for his part, former referee Marelli backs Guida’s decision.

Ex Serie A Referee Marelli: No Foul In Buildup To Inter Goal Vs Juventus

“The contact took place in Inter’s defensive midfield,” Marelli analyzed.

“There’s a coming-together. It might seem like there’s a hand on the face.”

“But in reality there’s no such thing,” Marelli went on.

“That was the view of Guida, who was in a perfect position to see it.”

The former referee then noted that “The difference compared to the past is that if there had been a blow to the face, the entire decision could come into question. Because the face gets a lot more protection.”

As far as the possibility of VAR intervention, Marelli observed that “The protocol says that the entire possession phase is not necessarily considered to be part of the attack.”

“But if there’s prolonged possession in a team’s own half, it should be considered the attack when the ball is moved across the halfway line.”

Marelli argued that “In any event, from the images you can see that there’s contact between the shoulder and the chest.”

“The referee on the pitch assessed that correctly, in my view,” he said.

And Marelli also gave his view on wingback Juan Cuadrado’s yellow card for a late tackle on Filip Kostic.

“The player makes contact the opponent above the ankle,” he noted.

“Though in reality he takes the ball first.”

“A similar incident happened with Baschirotto a few weeks ago,” Marelli continued.

“He was sent off but it was considered an error,” the former referee noted.

“The punishment and yellow card for recklessness are correct in this occasion,” he said of Cuadrado going into the book.