AC Milan were on the right side of a penalty call this weekend, and whilst it was missed, it is nice to get the inside look into proceedings.
There has been a lot of focus on the penalty this weekend. Had Milan scored it, they would have taken three points back to Milano, which would have kept them at the top of Serie A. Unfortunately, though, it wasn’t to be.
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A lot of scrutiny has arrived after, pointing out that the Rossoneri have a 54% failure rate from the spot, which is pretty damning. However, these things happen, and when there are several penalty takers, there is a greater amount of risk.
Open VAR’s view
In the days that have followed, more has come out about the penalty, including the words from those in charge of VAR.
So, Calciomercato.com has relayed these comments from Open VAR, with the incident between Lloyd Kelly and Santiago Gimenez being looked at.
The audio of VAR and AVAR, Di Bello and Ghersini…
“He called a penalty. There’s no offside. Attacker in the lead, defender behind. He blocks frame by frame. Marco (Guida, ed.), I confirm the penalty. There’s no control of the ball, so absolutely no DOGSO. The ball is in the air, there’s no possession.”
Andrea De Marco’s review…
“Promising and genuine action? It’s needed for the penalty that should be taken. In this case, we saw how referee Guida decisively awarded the penalty; he had a clear view and saw the clash between Kelly and Gimenez.
“Then, in the VAR room, they also checked whether it was a clear potential goal-scoring opportunity, the famous DOGSO. In this case, the AC Milan player didn’t yet have possession of the ball; it was a long pass towards the penalty area, so it was considered a genuine challenge, and no action was taken.
“It would have been a yellow card, which we know is downgraded inside the penalty area when a penalty is awarded, and therefore no action is taken, whereas if it had been a red card, it would have become a yellow card.
“Everything was correct that was done on the pitch; he was very good at seeing the situation alone, he had a clear view and was in full control. of the situation, without using technology.”
I think it was a clear professional foul. Kelly is caught out and does a quick grab and pull back and down on Gimenez hips. Trying to disguise it by keeping his palms open and away from Gimenez body. Using only his wrists to grab and slow down the attacker.
So from that perspective a red was justified.
But I take their point that he had not yet gained possession of the ball. So DOGSO standard doesn’t yet apply.