Referee Federico La Penna and VAR chief Luca Banti made an error in interpreting the protocol during last night’s 1-1 draw between AC Milan and Salernitana.
Read SempreMilan ad-free and get access to exclusive news. Click here for a free trial!
MilanNews recall the incident in the 70th minute of the game when Charles De Ketelaere fed Ismael Bennacer inside the area and he went down under a challenge from Bradaric that caused La Penna to instantly point to the spot.
The VAR protocol – drawn up by the IFAB – is based on 11 principles and a couple of the key points are listed below:
1. A VAR is a match official, with independent access to the footage of the match, who can assist the referee only in the event of a clear and obvious error.
3. The initial decision made by the referee will not be changed unless the video review clearly shows that the decision was a clear and obvious error.
Therefore if this protocol were to be used properly then the ‘clear and obvious’ element means that a decision could and should only be overturned in the case where contact is missed by the referee or if the referee presumed there was contact but there was not.
In the incident involving Bradaric and Bennacer there is contact, as the Croatian puts his arm on the Algerian and also touches his leg. Banti however was called over for an on-field review and the referee chose to overturn the penalty, without however booking Bennacer for simulation.
Yesterday evening, the report adds, those who were in the VAR room went against the protocol in a clear and crystalline way, or ‘clear and obvious’ if you prefer.
