Marelli insists Juventus were denied a penalty against Lazio: “Gila realised he messed up” | OneFootball

Former Serie A referee Luca Marelli believes Juventus should have been awarded a penalty in the second half against Lazio.

The Aquile aggravated the Bianconeri’s wounds by beating them 1-0 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. Toma Basic’s early strike was enough to earn Maurizio Sarri’s men a valuable victory.

However, things could have drastically changed when Mario Gila appeared to have clipped Francisco Conceicao in his own penalty box.

Juventus should have got a spot-kick against Lazio

The Portuguese winger went to the ground wailing in agony, claiming the Spanish defender had stomped him.

Nevertheless, match official Andrea Colombo immediately dismissed the incident, waving play on, while the VAR decided not to intervene, even though the slow-motion replays suggested that Conceicao may have indeed been fouled.

Needless to say, Juventus certainly weren’t happy with this incident, especially at a time when they’re absolutely desperate for points, having gone eight matches without registering a win.

Francisco Conceicao (Photo by Paolo Bruno/Getty Images)

For his part, Marelli admitted that Gila’s challenge warranted a penalty kick, and that the latter’s facial expressions exposed his guilt.

“Gila immediately realised he had messed up,” said the esteemed refereeing expert in his post-match appearance on DAZN via TuttoJuve.

“His right foot was on Conceicao’s left. The Juventus player certainly searched for contact, but all players do it.

“I don’t understand why an On-Field Review wasn’t called. In my opinion, this is a clear penalty.”

Refereeing errors cost Juventus again

Unfortunately for Juventus, this isn’t the first time they’ve been hard done by the refereeing this season.

Igor Tudor was also furious with the match official and the VAR following the 1-1 draw against Hellas Verona.

During that contest, Joao Mario’s handball was judged worthy of a spot-kick, while Gift Orban’s elbow to Federico Gatti’s face went unpunished. The match ended in a 1-1 draw.