Why referees did not rule out Arnautovic volley in Inter Coppa Italia victory | OneFootball

Marko Arnautovic scored one of the goals of the tournament in Inter’s 2-0 victory over Lazio in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday night, but there have been suggestions that the strike should not have stood as Stefan De Vrij was stood in an offside position at the time.

The Nerazzurri teed up a two-legged Derby della Madonnina against rivals Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Lazio in the quarters on Tuesday night. Arnautovic opened the scoring and Hakan Calhanoglu wrapped up the three points from the penalty spot in the second half.

Arnautovic’s goal, however, has become a talking point, particularly among Lazio supporters. Federico Dimarco’s corner had been half-cleared to the edge of the area, where Arnautovic dispatched with a first-time volley.

Many feel that Stefan De Vrij was obstructing goalkeeper Christos Mandas’s view while standing in an offside position at the time of the Austrian’s shot. Additionally, admittedly, slightly further away from the action Denzel Dumfries was holding Nicolo Rovella on the edge of the box, which also could have resulted in a Lazio free-kick.

Corriere dello Sport labelled the refereeing decisions a “disaster” on Wednesday’s front page, and also suggested that the decision to award the goal was a “serious oversight,” but the lack of VAR intervention was “even more serious”.

Why Arnautovic volley was not ruled out in Inter 2-0 Lazio

MILAN, ITALY – FEBRUARY 25: Marko Arnautovic of FC Internazionale celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Coppa Italia Quarter Final match between FC Internazionale and SS Lazio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 25, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

While it is not permitted to obstruct the goalkeeper’s view from an offside position, there can be a few different interpretations of the rule.

Importantly, the referees felt that goalkeeper Mandas’s line of sight was not fully obstructed by De Vrij at the time of Arnautovic’s shot, particularly given there was a fair bit of distance between the goalkeeper and the De Vrij, and between De Vrij and Arnautovic.

As the call was subjective and not a clear and obvious error made by the officials, VAR were not able to intervene.