Sunday night’s Serie A clash between AC Milan and Fiorentina at San Siro brimmed with VAR controversy.
According to DAZN’s Open VAR via FCInter1908, referee Livio Marinelli was initially reluctant to award a penalty to the Rossoneri before the VAR intervention.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side fought back from a narrow deficit to claim a 2-1 home win over an out-of-sorts La Viola.
Indeed, Rafael Leao notched up a second-half brace to extend Milan’s unbeaten league streak to six matches.
More importantly, Milan’s fifth win from their last six Serie A outings catapulted them to the top of the standings.
However, the 19-time Italian champions got a decisive nudge from the VAR booth.
Though Marinelli waved ‘play on’ at first, Rosario Abisso prompted him to reconsider his decision, ultimately convincing him to change his mind.
Meanwhile, the same VAR referee chose to remain silent during Inter Milan’s dismal away defeat to Juventus last month.
Despite reviewing an identical incident involving Khephren Thuram and Ange-Yoan Bonny, Abisso deemed there was no foul play.
VAR Audio Conversation During AC Milan 2-1 Fiorentina Penalty Incident Revealed
“No! For me, no! He has a wide arm,” Livio Marinelli said. “I see the wide arm, but he doesn’t hit him with it. Tell me if an On-Field Review (OFR) is needed.”
Furthermore, here’s the feedback from the VAR booth.
“Wait, wait, wait. He hits him in the face, he even hits him in the face.
“It’s still an unnecessary gesture: he hits him first in the face and then also holds him.
“Then you have to see if anything happens with Ranieri while he’s on the ground.”
After a careful review, VAR referees concluded: “It’s fine as it is, it’s fine as it is. So, Livio, I recommend the OFR for a possible penalty.”
Meanwhile, after double-checking the incident on the side-pitch monitor, Marinelli replied: “Do you agree on the penalty without any disciplinary action?”
VAR then responded: “Since it’s a blow to the face, I would also apply disciplinary action.”
Finally, the on-field referee agreed: “Penalty and yellow card, perfect.”
Andrea De Marco Delivers His Verdict on AC Milan 2-1 Fiorentina Penalty Incident
“The referee made the right call on the field,” De Marco said. “When it comes to intensity, as in this case, VAR should not intervene because it’s a field decision.
“With the very high penalty threshold Rocchi has been enforcing this season, this would not have been considered a penalty.
“But if the referee on the field had felt that the intensity warranted a penalty and had awarded it, VAR should not have intervened, and the decision should have been left to the referee.
“Gimenez greatly exaggerates the fall, and this season I’ve seen many players go down as if they had taken very serious hits.
“The committee is studying measures to address these situations in the future.
“Maximum respect is required on the field. These situations must be eliminated. It absolutely should not happen.
“A strict crackdown will begin as early as next Sunday. In Juve-Inter, there were similar incidents; VAR did not intervene there, as it should not have done on Sunday.
“Gimenez’s reaction? It’s more of a little kick, but mainly to free himself. It was right to let the play continue.”
Lol so why would inter want the VAR ref to feature in any of their matches he clearly wanted Milan to win at all cost. Notice how they completely ignore Gimenez reaction while on the ground as it’s a clear red card to hit someone’s balls haha
Italians, what can you do? they’re still following their individual interests and egos instead of being rational and unbiased.