‘An abomination of football’ – Experts divided on Pavlovic-Thuram penalty incident

One of the most controversial incidents during the derby between Inter and AC Milan was the second half penalty awarded.

With just less than 20 minutes on the clock, Inter were given the chance to level from the spot as Strahinja Pavlovic was deemed to have fouled Marcus Thuram. The Frenchman fired in a cross from near the byline and had his boot stood on, something that could be deemed incidental contact.

Maignan saved his last penalty against Paulo Dybala, and he kept out Calhanoglu too with a fantastic stop, so ultimately the refereeing decision did not cost anything in terms of points, especially because Milan went on to win 1-0.

Luca Marelli spoke live on DAZN about the decision to change to a penalty after the on-field call was that it wasn’t worthy of one. His comments are via Radio Rossonera.

“The penalty awarded with On Field Review from the pitch is impossible to see for two reasons. The first is that Sozza is on the opposite side of the pitch, the second is that the referee is following the ball, which at the moment of contact between the two players is already far away,” he said.

“The fact that Thuram freed himself from the ball did not affect the decision. It’s a complex penalty. Pavlovic’s and Thuram’s movements must be taken into account, but there’s also the recklessness, the step on foot. It’s right to award the penalty, and it’s also right to give the yellow card.”

Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images

Graziano Cesari – a former referee who covers games for SportMediaset – offered his take on the decision live last night too. He said it was ‘absolutely justified because Pavlovic committed a reckless act’.

Riccardo Trevisani, in the latest episode of Pressing, harshly criticised the decision, calling it ‘an abomination of football’.

“This thing counts for nothing in the game of football. Thuram crossed, and what happens next is completely irrelevant, because he doesn’t receive a penalty and nothing serious happens to him,” he said.

“Pavlovic’s leg lands on him completely by chance; he doesn’t mean to commit a foul, just to block the cross, and he arrives late. There’s no reason why this should be a penalty in sensible football. But anything goes these days.”