AC Milan and Juventus played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final on Thursday night in a game full of controversy.
Three Milan players were booked before a goal was scored, namely Theo Hernandez, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Samuel Castillejo, meaning they will be suspended for the second leg.
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Ante Rebic gave the Rossoneri the lead with a precise volley, but Hernandez was then sent off for a second yellow card and – after VAR consultation – referee Paolo Valeri gave Juventus a late penalty after he adjudged that Davide Calabria blocked a Cristiano Ronaldo shot with his arm.
Below shows an incident from earlier in the season during which Cerri of Cagliari was penalised for a very similar incident, in which he was struck by a shot from very close proximity with his back to the ball.
As Pioli pointed out, the penalty yesterday was very similar to one that was given against Cerri. That decision was later deemed incorrect, but yet Calabria was punished.
– Both had their back towards the ball
– Both jumped
– Both had their arm in a natural position pic.twitter.com/6FNf2GVXgF— Isak Möller (@Isak_Moller) February 14, 2020
This incident was actually referenced during a refereeing confidence as a decision which VAR got wrong, as it was deemed there was no reaction time, no deliberate play of the ball with the defender’s hand, nor was his arm in an unnatural position plus the fact his back was turned.
On Thursday night however, for virtually the exact same incident, Milan were punished.
Ecco cosa diceva Rizzoli sul rigore per fallo di mano di Cerri in Cagliari Brescia.
Molto simile a quello concesso in #MilanJuventus, in favore della Juve.
A voi i pareri @dondiegotheone @Alessandro___90 @Zelgadis265 @s_tamburini @_esegesi_ pic.twitter.com/AGpDCr2V98
— Gennaro (@CrashNC88) February 13, 2020
