Milan wins the second derby of the season, moves to -7 from their rivals, and reopens the race for the Scudetto. In short, the evening for the Devil is one to remember. Allegri outsmarted Chivu once again, proving – if there was ever any doubt – that he is still an expert in city derbies.
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On the other hand, it was a bad derby for the Nerazzurri, and the issue of big matches has become a problem. The steamroller team that seems unstoppable against the medium-small teams appears to crumble as soon as the level rises. The excuse of absences is acceptable – they were significant yesterday – but what was unconvincing about the league leaders was their attitude.
Despite a very poor derby played by Inter, chances still came, along with controversies. Two incidents sparked debate: the first was a goal when play was stopped; the second was a handball in the Rossoneri area by Ricci. In both cases, we were in full stoppage time.
🤔 The penalty divides
The key incident is certainly the second, which Dimarco also spoke about at the end of the match. A cross in the middle, chest pass by Dumfries, and handball by Ricci, who seems to want to withdraw his arm but ends up hitting the ball.
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According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, there’s nothing to penalize, giving Doveri a 6 in the ratings and simply commenting on the incident by saying it is “considered non-punishable in dynamics“.
The tones were much more heated on SkySport in last night’s post-match. For Beppe Bergomi, there are many doubts, especially about the VAR’s judgment criteria: “I’ve seen many penalties given in this manner, even less evident ones. In this case, VAR should intervene, I don’t know why it didn’t…“. The same goes for Stefano De Grandis: “He certainly didn’t do it on purpose, but I struggle to distinguish it from all the others that have been awarded. This is an outstretched arm going towards the ball, then he tries to retract it, but it hits the ball“.
Even the former Milan legend, Billy Costacurta, emphasizes the comparison with recent past incidents: “I believe the proximity influenced the VAR’s decision not to call Doveri. For me, this is never a penalty, but it must be said that all such penalties have been given until now“.
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And the VAR? According to the entire SkySport studio, it should have called Doveri for a check.
Providing clarity on the rules is Luca Marelli, who through a message in the DAZN studio intervened on the matter: “According to FIFA rules adopted by the Serie A championship, the handball is not punishable because the movement is to close and not to create an obstacle“.
😡 Social media sides with Dimarco
The controversy, needless to say, also flared up on social media, and the thought of many Inter fans is that the incident is very similar to the one last May that led to the decisive penalty in the title race in Inter-Lazio, which then went down in history as the “Bisseck handball”.
In that case, the hands behind the back were not enough for the Nerazzurri defender to save himself. A similar incident, also highlighted by Dimarco: “The Ricci handball? Every Sunday we talk about refereeing incidents, the arm is wide. I just say they should have sent the referee to the VAR to decide. These are important matches, it’s similar to Bisseck in Inter-Lazio, and last year Lazio drew with such a penalty“.
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That time, Chiffi’s whistle directed the Scudetto towards Naples, starting a nightmare end of the season for Inzaghi’s team. We’ll see if this time the referee’s decision will also have a significant impact on the title race.
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.
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