During the latest episode of Open VAR, referee designator Gianluca Rocchi commented on Athekame’s second goal against Pisa, reaffirming the goal’s validity. He also addressed the alleged foul by Stefano Moreo on Gabbia during Pisa’s second goal. His words were:
On Milan's Athekame’s goal vs Pisa:
"For us, it is absolutely a correct goal because distance makes the difference. It is clear that the goalkeeper sees the ball being played, so there is no doubt about the start of the shot. The player’s movement is to get out of the way of the ball. The distance is not the goal area but the penalty area, so the goal is absolutely correct. Our idea is to allow as many goals as possible from our side. On the first goal, it was a borderline case because we were close to the goal area, so the threshold for punishability must be higher."
On the foul on Milan defender Gabbia, Rocchi said:
"We saw this more as a casual incident, not intentional or just accidental. I agree with this, I do not see it as something clear enough to trigger a VAR intervention. If the referee calls the foul, that is fine. In this case, there is no VAR intervention, and that is correct."
