Inter coach Simone Inzaghi wanted a red card for Fodé Ballo-Touré when the Milan full-back brought down Matteo Darmian, but Daniele Doveri is being praised by the Italian papers for his decisions in the derby.
Doveri’s performance is being highlighted by the Italian press after the Derby della Madonnina on Sunday, a positive note during a difficult time for the match officials in Italy.
Milan and Inter clashed for the first derby of the season and Franck Kessie gave away a penalty in a duel with former Rossonero Hakan Calhanoglu at the start of the game.
Doveri pointed at the penalty spot when the Turkey international anticipated the Ivorian with his foot and the Milan midfielder brought him down inside the area.
VAR checked the decision and confirmed the penalty kick, as the images clearly revealed the contact stopping the Nerazzurri player in his path.
The second penalty decision was more controversial due to Inzaghi’s reaction. The Inter coach was not happy with Doveri only showing Ballo-Touré a yellow card.
The Milan full-back brought down Darmian in the area and it was a clear penalty for the Beneamata, but the Inter coach obviously wanted a different colour on the card.
However, this is a decision in line with the regulation. Ballo-Touré’s intervention aims to take the ball and this, according to the rules, discriminates the seriousness of the incident despite being a goalscoring opportunity.
Il Corriere dello Sport highlights the good performance by the match official on Sunday and defined the referee as ‘perfect’ in the Derby della Madonnina.
La Gazzetta dello Sport agrees with the referee too, highlighting the ‘genuine intervention’ of Ballo-Touré and the correct yellow card.
At the other end, Milan called for handballs on Hakan Calhanoglu and Joaquin Correa, but both newspapers agree the right calls were made.
Doveri only showed the one yellow card during the game at San Siro and read the intense game very well.