Italian Referee Association Representative Delivers Verdict On Inter Milan 1-1 Atalanta Controversy: “Nerazzurri Denied A Penalty” | OneFootball

Italian Referee Association (AIA) member Dino Tommasi delivered a final verdict on Saturday’s controversial draw between Inter Milan and Atalanta.

During the latest episode of ‘Open VAR’ on DAZN, Tomassi assessed the controversy surrounding this fixture, as reported by FCInterNews.

Cristian Chivu’s side shared the spoils with La Dea in a gut-wrenching 1-1 stalemate at Stadio San Siro last weekend.

Despite taking the lead through Francesco Pio Esposito, the Nerazzurri failed to secure their eighth consecutive win over Atalanta.

Indeed, Nikola Krstovic leveled the score in the 82nd minute after Kamaldeen Sulemana pushed Denzel Dumfries.

Meanwhile, referee Gianluca Manganiello refused to review the incident with VAR despite Inter’s relentless appeals.

Furthermore, the 45-year-old official didn’t point to the spot when Giorgio Scalvini kicked Davide Frattesi inside the box.

More importantly, Manganiello’s VAR assistants, Matteo Gariglio and Daniele Chiffi, saw no need to intervene.

As a result, all three of them are at risk of being suspended.

Dino Tommasi Delivers Verdict on Inter Milan 1-1 Atalanta Controversy

Tommasi confirmed that Sulemana didn’t commit a foul on Dumfries.

“There’s no push, just a hand lightly placed – there’s no real pressure,” Tomassi said. “In the VAR room, after reviewing all the camera angles, they realized there was no contact down low, no type of foul.

“Dumfries performs a step-over; there’s contact as he falls, but it’s certainly not a foul. Manganiello’s decision was absolutely correct, and the VAR room confirmed it.”

However, Tommasi admitted that Manganiello made a huge mistake by not awarding a penalty to Inter.

“On the pitch, Manganiello says ‘he barely touches him,’ and the VAR room quickly backs up his call. In reality, as we can clearly see, Frattesi gets to the ball ahead of Scalvini and remains in a position to play it.

“By the dynamics, this is a clear penalty. We’ve already had similar cases in the past – it could have been spotted on the field. But if, as in this case, Manganiello couldn’t properly assess the extent of the contact because his view was blocked. Then the VAR room should have intervened with an on-field review.

“We prefer these penalties to be given on the pitch, but Manganiello sensed only slight contact and didn’t judge it as a penalty, whereas Frattesi gets there ahead of Scalvini. The VAR room could have stepped in.”

Finally, he approved Manganiello’s decision not to penalize Ederson’s tackle on Dumfries.

“The decision is certainly correct; there’s little to add. Dumfries clearly fouls Ederson by holding him and bringing him down.”