The Repubblica website analyzed the episode of the penalty requested by Inter last night in the derby against Milan for Samuele Ricci’s handball and explained why referee Doveri rightly did not award the penalty:
“Everything happened in the 95th minute of Milan–Inter, with the Rossoneri leading 1–0 and just one step away from a victory that could reopen the title race. Inter pushed forward, without breaking through. Then the incident: a cross from Dimarco, a diving chest layoff from Dumfries and the ball that ricochets onto Ricci’s bent arm. The Dutch Inter full back ran toward referee Doveri, who however showed no hesitation even when all the Nerazzurri players surrounded him, as they wanted a penalty that could give the match a different ending.
"But Doveri remained unmoved. Supported twice. The first time by the VAR room check, where referees Abisso and Di Bello at the monitor checked, dissected, and reviewed the episode, and in the end agreed that that bent elbow, slightly away from the body but pulled back immediately after contact with the ball, was not punishable with a penalty kick. And tomorrow, during the Open Var broadcast, the Italian Referees Association will confirm they were right. Because the arm has a movement that withdraws, not toward the ball but instead toward the body. And because it does not significantly increase the body’s volume, nor is it in an unnatural position. In short, all the criteria for the possible awarding of a penalty are missing. And even Chivu did not complain: ‘They told me that VAR and AVAR carried out a check, there is nothing to say'."
