Empoli coach Aurelio Andreazzoli was furious that VAR did not intervene during the 2-0 defeat to Inter. ‘Even my four-year-old grandson could see that was a penalty.’
The incident occurred just moments before the Nerazzurri took the lead at the Stadio Castellani.
Danilo D’Ambrosio seemed to clip Nedim Bajrami’s heel in the penalty area, but the referee waved play on and VAR did not intervene, so Inter went on the counter and scored with D’Ambrosio’s header.
Samuele Ricci was then shown a straight red card for wiping out Nicolò Barella, 10-man Empoli conceding again from Federico Dimarco.
“I want to be very clear that I have never talked about referees, because I think they ought to be defended as a profession,” Andreazzoli told Sky Sport Italia.
“However, I want to know what exactly Paolo Valeri was doing this evening at the VAR desk. Either he was distracted or he popped to the bathroom or something, because how is it possible that VAR does not help the referee when it has to?
“Let’s leave aside the Inter performance, just like the red card for Ricci, which I’ll admit was basically an orange card and I accept that. I always accept decisions.
“However, if VAR see a clear and obvious error, I ask myself why do they not help the referee? That is what they are there for.
“Honestly, even my four-year-old grandson Tommaso could see that was a penalty. I saw it on a phone when I went back into the locker room at the final whistle and was shocked when I saw the replay.
“If we do not use these instruments and this technology, then we remove the objectivity of refereeing in games. The matches must be objective. The referee did a good job overall, but he didn’t see that incident, the VAR did, so help him make the right decisions.”