Refereeing designator Nicola Rizzoli confirms Milan and Roma penalties were bad calls, but he ‘hopes’ they weren’t two dubious decisions to cancel each other out.
The chaos erupted during and after the 3-3 draw on Monday evening, as first Roma received a penalty for what seemed to be Pedro Rodriguez’s foul on Ismael Bennacer.
“This is where the forward creates the contact with the defender and not the other way around. In this case, the VAR undoubtedly should’ve intervened,” Rizzoli told Sky Sport Italia.
“Unfortunately, when there are so many players arguing with the referee, it interrupts the lines of communication with the VAR and makes it more difficult for him to hear if there are issues.
“When we talk about pushes and tugs, it becomes complicated using VAR, because replays can make them look more serious than they really are. In this case, the referee’s judgment on the field in real time is usually more accurate.”
Soon after, the Rossoneri also received a very contentious spot-kick for barely any contact between Gianluca Mancini and Hakan Calhanoglu.
“This was a normal contact, both were going for the ball, this too would’ve given VAR reason to intervene.”
Is it possible Milan were given the benefit of the doubt on this incident because the referee knew the Roma penalty had been soft?
“I sincerely hope not. That would not be a good thing and that is not how referees think. Sometimes, you can tell from the protests and from the behaviour of the players whether you might’ve made a mistake. In the case of that Roma penalty, the player apologised to Bennacer, so he knew it was his foul.
“Of course, nowadays we have the technology so that if in doubt, we can view it again. We didn’t have that when I was a referee.”
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