In the draw between Torino and Inter in the match valid for the 34th round of Serie A, there is an episode destined to spark debate that occurs in the second half. Referee Mariani is called to the VAR for a handball in the area by Carlos Augusto.
After a long review—over two minutes in front of the monitor—the referee awarded a penalty to the Granata, judging the position of the Nerazzurri defender’s arm to be irregular on Duvan Zapata‘s close-range header.
The decision is supported by the slow-motion analysis of Corriere dello Sport, which approves the referee’s actions with this explanation:
“He stayed in front of the monitor for more than a minute. Mariani watched and rewatched that arm touch by Carlos Augusto, because the ball headed by Zapata came from really close. But the referee punished the unnatural position of the arm, which was very wide from the start, and for this reason, after the On Field Review, he awarded the penalty to Torino,” it reads.
A view that is also shared by other newspapers. Mariani was also praised by La Gazzetta dello Sport and Tuttosport. But the episode was widely discussed on television programs as well, precisely because of the close distance and the dynamics of the action, and it was compared to recent unsanctioned incidents, such as the handball by Ricci in the derby and that of Pongracic in Fiorentina-Inter.
The question, once again, concerns the standard of judgment. Beyond the single decision, the issue of interpretative uniformity remains. And it is precisely on this point that the understandable discontent among Inter fans focuses, as they complain about a lack of clarity and consistency in the application of the rules.
