'Football is ruined like this' – Italian press criticises refereeing during Arsenal defeat to Inter Milan
Today at 05:16 AM
Arsenal failed to beat Inter in the Champions League yesterday, falling to a 1-0 defeat thanks to a Hakan Calhanoglu penalty.
While there were some question marks about the penalty which was handed to Inter, there was a fair shout for a penalty that involved Arsenal.
Mikel Merino was clattered inside the box by Yann Sommer but the referee decided to not give a penalty.
Mikel Arteta was vocal about the incident and it seems as if even the Italian press agree with the Gunners boss.
Corriere dello Sport, as relayed by FCInter1908, reject the decision made by Istvan Kovacs and VAR referee Christian Dingert.
The paper states: ‘Football is ruined like this’
Further, they mention: ‘Sommer comes out with his fists, trying to anticipate Merino. The Inter goalkeeper hits the opponent’s head with his fists, who beats him to the ball by just a few inches. After the replay, the on field decision seemed obvious, but instead VAR Dingert was silent.
‘The only explanation is that someone saw Sommer graze the ball, but it would remain that the contact on the head comes first and then the rest. That was a penalty kick.’
It’s surprising to see the Italian outlet side with Arteta instead of Inter, who had rotated their squad a fair bit despite the game being a major one.
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