Former referee Paolo Calvarese analyzed Doveri‘s officiating in the Milan derby in the pages of Tuttosport. The Roman referee, chosen by Rocchi for a match requiring high experience, confirmed his approach with a high technical and disciplinary threshold and a consistent standard of judgment, but lost his way in the final minutes.
According to Calvarese, the main mistake does not concern the penalty requested by Inter for Ricci‘s touch, but rather the hasty whistle on a corner kick. The referee stopped play after the ball had already been taken, creating a situation of general confusion with the ball ending up behind Maignan while some players had already stopped.
On the alleged handball by Saelemaekers, Calvarese considers the decision not to award the penalty correct: the ball hit the deltoid and not the arm. Also, in the contact between De Winter and Esposito, there were no grounds for a penalty, as it was the Inter player who ended up hitting the opponent.
As for the most contested touch, that of Ricci, the former referee agrees with the decision to let play continue: the arm was in a natural position, without increasing the body silhouette, and the Rossoneri midfielder had even tried to move it away. Furthermore, the short distance from which the ball came made it correct not to award a penalty.
The real mistake came on the final corner kick: Doveri blew the whistle when the ball had already been played and was therefore in play. The warning to the players should have been given before the kick, not after play had started. The yellow cards given to Bastoni, Dumfries, Rabiot, and Modric were correct, however.
