Chivu, dethroned by an officially recognized refereeing blunder: “VAR should not have intervened” + There will be suspensions after Milan
Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published on Tuesday, 21 October 2025 20:23 / Updated on Tuesday, 21 October 2025 20:29
The penalty from which AC Milan won the 7th leg match at San Siro with Fiorentina (2-1) was non-existent. The Commission of Referees in Italy officially announced that the referee Livio Marinelli should not have given a foul in the box during the duel between Santiago Gimenez and Fabiano Parisi, even if the VAR Rosario Abisso mistakenly called him to review the phase! Both will be retained from delegations at the next two stages.
The scandal made by the captain and coach of Fiorentina after the failure suffered by the Viola at San Siro was finally justified. The kick from 11 meters, with which the “central” sanctioned Fabiano Parisi's hand on Santiago Gimenez's face in the guests' penalty area, was dictated for free. Just as, equally unjustified, was the intervention from the VAR room.
Rafael Leao safely converted the penalty, scored a brace and thus allowed Milan to go top of the Serie A standings, one point above Chivu's Inter.
“Marinelli's midfielder correctly interpreted the situation on the field, and when there is intensity in a duel VAR should not intervene”
“When the referee Marinelli sees that Gimenez falls in the box after the contact with Parisi, he exclaims: “Not! Not for me. His arm is outstretched, but…». At this point, Abisso and Di Paolo intervene from the VAR room. First, they assume that the Mexican striker was stepped on, then they see the movement of Parisi's arm.
“He feels it in his face. It's a free gesture, first he hits him in the face and then he pulls him back. The player is Parisi, I recommend a review of the phase on the edge for a possible penalty. You can see his hand on his opponent's face and holding him back as well. Since it is a slap in the face, a disciplinary sanction can also be applied»”writes Corriere dello Sport.
The Referees Commission explained today that “in this case, Marinelli correctly interpreted the situation on the field, and when there is intensity VAR should not intervene. It was the referee's assessment on the pitch”.
Gimenez greatly exacerbated the fall. This season, we're seeing a lot of players who have that attitude. Rocchi was very clear and very tough. The Commission is studying measures for such cases. Maximum respect is demanded on the field, and these things must be eliminated
Andrea DeMarcoformer Italian referee
The quoted Italian newspaper claims that the joint blunder of the “central” and the VAR will not end with a drastic one-month suspension, but Marinelli and Abisso will escape with only one retention from delegations next weekend and for the intermediate stage, which will end the month of October in Serie A.
