Ex-Serie A Referee Graziano Cesari: “Not Certain Denzel Dumfries’ Handball A Penalty, Hakan Calhanoglu Risked Red Card For Tackle On Sergio Busquets” | OneFootball

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SempreInter.Com

·5 October 2022

Ex-Serie A Referee Graziano Cesari: “Not Certain Denzel Dumfries’ Handball A Penalty, Hakan Calhanoglu Risked Red Card For Tackle On Sergio Busquets”

Article image:Ex-Serie A Referee Graziano Cesari: “Not Certain Denzel Dumfries’ Handball A Penalty, Hakan Calhanoglu Risked Red Card For Tackle On Sergio Busquets”

Former Serie A referee Graziano Cesari feels that it was not clear and obvious that Inter wingback Denzel Dumfries’s handball late in the second half against Barcelona yesterday was a penalty.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Canale 5, Cesari defended the decision by referee Slavko Vincic and the VAR not to award a spot kick for the handball, and also suggested that Nerazzurri midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu was a bit lucky to avoid a straight red for a late tackle on Sergio Busquets.


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Inter will have held their breath as the VAR reviewed a situation where Dumfries had clearly made contact with the ball with his arm, potentially giving the Blaugranas the chance to equalize from the spot.

In the end no penalty was given, but this was the subject of strong protests by all the Barcelona players and staff.

Meanwhile, Calhanoglu received a yellow card for a sliding tackle on his Barcelona counterpart Busquets, but the tackle was late and dangerous enough that it would not exactly have been implausible if he had been sent off for it instead.

“I’d rate the referee 5.5/10,” Cesari said, “too many interventions were needed by VAR for things that aren’t usually seen.”

“Ansu Fati’s left arm interrupts and changes the trajectory of the ball on the Barcelona goal,” he continued, “the handball leads the goal for 1-1 to be disallowed.”

“In the 69th minute Calhanoglu risks a red card,” he continued, “for me it was a red card because his leg is high and risks hurting Busquets.”

And regarding the Blaugranas’ penalty shout, he said that “The certainty that Dumfries touches it is not there, without certainty a penalty shouldn’t be given.”

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