Referee & VAR Blasted For Not Awarding Blatant Penalty In AC Milan 1-1 Inter Milan Serie A Derby | OneFootball

Referee Daniele Chiffi and the VAR have come under fire for not awarding a blatant penalty in yesterday’s derby clash between AC Milan and Inter Milan.

Today’s print edition of Rome-based newspaper Corriere dello Sport, via FCInterNews, brand the failure to award a spot kick for Strahinja Pavlovic’s foul on Marcus Thuram a “serious error.”

By and large, referee Daniele Chiffi did a solid job of refereeing yesterday’s derby.

Clashes between Inter and Milan are never easy matches to officiate. But Chiffi kept a lid on things.

And apart from failing to spot what should have been an Inter corner kick in the 35th minute and instead awarding a goal kick, there were no major errors until the 73rd minute.

Chiffi and the refereeing team were correct to disallow three Inter goals. The first two for clear offsides in the buildup, and the third for a shove by Denzel Dumfries on Theo Hernandez.

However, Chiffi and his team undid all that good work in one key second half moment.

Chiffi & VAR Under Fire For Penalty Blunder In AC Milan 1-1 Inter Derby

Inter striker Marcus Thuram appealed for a penalty in the 73rd minute of yesterday’s derby.

This followed a coming-together between Marcus Thuram and Milan defender Strahinja Pavlovic.

MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 22: Marcus Thuram of FC Internazionale looks on during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and AC Milan at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 22, 2024 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The Frenchman had beaten Pavlovic in a foot race, However, the Rossoneri defender clattered into him in the box.

And in the meantime, Milan defender Theo Hernandez ran back to provide cover, clearing the ball with a sliding tackle.

It was Hernandez’s tackle that Chiffi seemed to mainly watch in the incident.

The referee made clear that he viewed it as a fair tackle. And indeed it was, as Hernandez won the ball.

However, Chiffi did not see the contact by Pavlovic on Thuram’s leg.

Subsequent replays showed a blatant trip on the calf of the Inter striker.

In the view of the Corriere, this was something that the VAR team needed to spot. They should have told Chiffi to go to the monitor and have a second look, where a penalty would have been inevitable.

And yet, Chiffi and the VAR let the incident pass without awarding a spot kick,