All of Inter Milan’s goals against Hellas Verona in their 5-0 Serie A win were onside, while Pawel Dawidowicz could have seen red.
This is the view in today’s print edition of Milan-based newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport, via FCInterNews, who assess referee Andrea Colombo’s performance.
When Inter and Verona faced off in January of this year, there was some refereeing controversy.
This concerned the decision not to disallow a late Inter goal despite an apparent foul by defender Alessandro Bastoni in the buildup.
Therefore, there was perhaps going to be some attention on the officiating in yesterday’s match at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
But in the end, the refereeing was hardly the story.
Inter scored five goals without reply inside the first half of the match to hit the ground running on their return to Serie A action from the international break.
All Inter Goals Vs Verona Onside – Dawidowicz Lucky Not To See Red
Naturally, Inter had to wait for confirmation of their goals from VAR. This has become a familiar wait with the introduction of the technology.
And on a couple of Inter’s goals, there was some doubt about whether they would stand.
Nerazzurri striker Marcus Thuram bagged a brace for his team’s second and third goals.
Both of these came after the Frenchman had been released into an acre of space behind Verona’s high defensive line. He got one-on-one with Gialloblu keeper Lorenzo Montipo and held his nerve to score.
Considering the space Thuram had to run into there was a hint of offside on his two goals.
But on both occasions, Verona wingback Domagoj Bradaric was in fact playing the Frenchman on.
Therefore, there was no refereeing controversy with either goal.
On the other hand, the Gazzetta note, Verona defender Pawel Dawidowicz was fortunate not to receive a red card.
Referee Colombo had booked Dawidowicz for an elbow on Inter forward Joaquin Correa.
Later, the 29-year-old committed a blatant foul to stop an Inter counterattack.
But, perhaps mindful of the scoreline, Colombo showed leniency and did not book Dawidowicz a second time to send the Pole off.