CdS: Atalanta penalty incident highlights need to rethink VAR protocol | OneFootball

Italian sports outlets echoed Atalanta’s indignation at the controversial late penalty call that sealed their fate against Club Brugge in the Champions League, with Corriere dello Sport highlighting how the decision exposed the clear limitations in the way VAR is currently being used.

Referee Umut Meler awarded the hosts a penalty in injury time for the softest of contacts between La Dea’s centre-back Isak Hien and Gustaf Nilsson, sparking disbelief and fury from the visitors.

epa11891504 Referee Umut Meler shows a yellow card as Atalanta players protest in added time during the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs 1st leg match between Club Brugge KV and Atalanta BC, in Bruges, Belgium, 12 February 2025. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER MATTHYS

The Italian paper criticised the refereeing team, claiming that the VAR could have corrected the unfair decision in ‘half a second’, an ‘injustice’ that was only doubled afterward, as footage clearly showed Club Brugge’s forward collapsing to the ground without justification.

Cds: penalty call against Atalanta an ‘injustice’ that VAR could’ve corrected

“The venom in the closing stages of a match that demonstrated, once again, the urgency and need to rethink the VAR protocol, which is proving inadequate,” Corriere dello Sport wrote.

“As happened at San Siro on Monday, as happened in Empoli on Saturday, as happened last night in Bruges: it would have taken just half a second for the men at the monitor to correct an injustice, which instead, in hindsight, becomes double.”

epa11891298 Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini watches from the touchline during the UEFA Champions League knockout phase play-offs 1st leg match between Club Brugge KV and Atalanta BC, in Bruges, Belgium, 12 February 2025. EPA-EFE/OLIVIER MATTHYS

Cds went on to wish a lengthy suspension for the referee: “As for referee Meler, he can go ahead and book a long vacation in the coming months,” it reads.

“Seeing him on the field again would indeed be worse than his mistake.”

Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini also expressed his frustration with the decision, claiming that ‘football is becoming a completely different sport.’