Sardinian referee Giuseppe Collu was promoted, while VAR Di Paolo was rejected and will be suspended for one round and will return to Serie B.
This, according to what the Gazzetta dello Sport reports, is the decision of the AIA after the frantic ending of Milan-Lazio .
The Sardinian referee , who is officiating consistently in the top flight for the first time, had made the right choice . There was no penalty for Lazio (Pavlovic's handball, from behind, just inches from Romagnoli who hit the ball, and while he was waving at Marusic in the penalty area, was not punishable). And there was no foul by Marusic himself on Pavlovic; the two held each other back in what was a normal game dynamic.
Collu, after a lengthy review, misinterpreted the incident. He said Pavlovic committed a handball but was fouled by Marusic . Therefore, no penalty was awarded, but neither was the corner that Lazio would have taken without VAR intervention.
But it was precisely the VAR that led Collu into error, who had rightly decided to continue the move by awarding Lazio a corner . Di Paolo was therefore suspended for one match and returned to Serie B.
The AIA officials also rightly dismissed Massimiliano Allegri, saying that during the "on-field review" the referee shouldn't be pressured . The AC Milan coach reportedly told Collu: "Every time you're around, something happens."
In short, the dynamics of the incident are clear, according to the AIA officials. VAR should never call a referee to order in that situation. Collu had seen correctly; Di Paolo's call led him to make a misinterpretation . Partly because the images, seen repeatedly in slow motion and close-ups, obscure the dynamics of the action. And partly, who knows, to avoid disavowing the expert VAR referee, with 260 Serie A appearances (these dynamics, too, are not to be underestimated).
Bottom line: in normal football, that's not a penalty, Lazio takes a corner (and maybe even scores the equalizer), Allegri finishes his game, and the Biancocelesti club doesn't maintain a media blackout. And we'll save ourselves a lot of unnecessary controversy.
(Unioneonline)
