Marelli on the penalty in the Milan v Torino match: "It reminds me of the Gimenez-Parisi incident against Fiorentina; today, VAR will have detected a different level of intensity. It’s subjective; we’ll never get past it."
THE EPISODE
Let’s look back at the incident that occurred around the 83rd minute of the match at San Siro.
During an attacking move by the Granata, Simeone remains on the ground following contact with Pavlovic. Play continues and Milan, on the counter-attack, come close to making it 4-1 through Ricci. Subsequently, the VAR checks the footage and calls referee Fourneau over to the monitor for an on‑field review. The referee went to review the incident and identified what appeared to be an unintentional slap to the face by Pavlovic against Simeone. After carefully reviewing the incident, Fourneau informed the San Siro crowd that the challenge was a foul and therefore awarded a penalty.
Luca Marelli on DAZN then points out that it was a high‑intensity situation and returns to this point later.
MARELLI'S WORDS
Luca Marelli, speaking on DAZN, went on to comment: “It’s an incident that Fourneau probably didn’t even see. He was cautioned for a slap to the face deemed reckless, so much so that Pavlovic was booked. It was judged that the blow was such as to prevent Simeone from taking part in the play. It brings to mind the Parisi‑Gimenez incident in Milan v Fiorentina. Back then, at Open VAR, we were told that the contact had been correctly assessed by the on‑field referee and the VAR should not have intervened. Today, VAR Nasca and AVAR Maresca probably perceived a different level of intensity in the incident. But we are still faced with the same old problem: intensity is subjective and we will never resolve it. Football is a contact sport and intensity can never be completely eliminated.”
Milan bounced back with a win straight away, but struggled against a Torino side that never gave up. The match at San Siro ended 3-2 in favour of the Rossoneri, with Torino’s second goal coming from a penalty awarded following a VAR review for a foul by Pavlovic on Simeone.
An incident that is sure to spark debate and on which DAZN’s refereeing expert Luca Marelli also commented.
