Inter came from behind to beat Bologna too, returning to winning ways after their Champions League defeat and remaining alone at the top of the table, pending Lazio's match away to Juventus in Turin this evening.
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Everything went according to Chivu's plans, then, and perhaps referee Doveri is happy about that too. Fifteen minutes into the second half, he books Thuram for diving in the penalty area after he dribbles past Darmian. The trouble is, there was contact with his former teammate, so it cannot possibly be a dive.
That brings us to the day's real talking point, at least in terms of refereeing: was it a penalty? According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, "the contact is clear, but by today's standards it is considered slight".
Il Corriere dello Sport takes a similar line, saying that "given the greater tolerance now, not awarding a penalty was correct, butthe booking was a mistake".
🤔 But the TV pundits see it differently
Then there is the Luca Marelli "case": he initially backed Doveri's decision during live coverage, only to change his mind in the studio, confirming that, besides the yellow card for diving, not awarding the Nerazzurri a penalty was also a mistake.
"It was a mistake by Doveri and by me too. Not only did Thuram not dive, but it was a penalty. I have no problem admitting the mistake. The yellow card for diving was completely wrong, but the final replay shows very clear contact on Thuram. VAR should have called Doveri over to award Inter a penalty. The contact is very clear".
In the end, then, perhaps Giuseppe Pastore is right when he says in the DAZN studio that Orsato does, after all, lead a charmed life, because "Once again, a mistake that doesn't affect the result, as in Torino–Milan, Inter–Napoli and Fiorentina–Frosinone. It will get less attention than it would have with a different result".
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.