Italian press take aim at 'incompetent' referee over Liverpool's penalty

Liverpool beat Inter Milan 1-0 in the San Siro on Tuesday evening thanks to a late penalty converted by Dominik Szoboszlai

The decision to grant Liverpool a penalty against Inter Milan in their 1-0 win at the San Siro has been slated by portions of the Italian media. Arne Slot's team were handed the spot kick with merely two minutes to go after Alessandro Bastoni was penalised for tugging at Florian Wirtz's shirt.

Multiple Italian publications have subsequently criticised the call made by referee Felix Zwayer, who checked the VAR monitor before reaching his verdict. Dominik Szoboszlai stepped up to calmly secure the narrow victory, propelling the Reds up to eighth in the league phase table.

Contact looked minimal between Bastoni and Wirtz. Reds defender Andy Robertson told Amazon Prime following the match that whilst the "penalty did look soft," it's a foul "that's given anywhere else on the pitch."

VAR had also earlier intervened in the first half after Liverpool were denied a goal. Ibrahima Konate's header was disallowed after the ball had bounced off Hugo Ekitike's arm.

Despite this, the pivotal decision to grant the penalty to Liverpool late in the contest has been condemned in Italy. Former AC Milan and England manager Fabio Capello blasted the call to award the Reds a penalty, branding it "scandalous."

Speaking on Sky Sports following the fixture, Capello said: "It is a scandalous penalty – I don't understand why the VAR had to intervene when the referee saw it all, the obvious simulation of throwing himself to the ground."

Referring to the lengthy VAR check that disallowed Konate's first half goal, Capello added: "I don't understand VAR tonight at all, it took three minutes to disallow a clear handball goal."

On Liverpool's winning penalty, he said: "They called the referee for a shirt tug that means we'd have a million penalties per game. They set a precedent and it is shameful."

Former Milan centre-back Alessandro Costacurta was working as a pundit and similarly shared Capello's views. He argued the penalty "has no logic" and establishes a worrying precedent.

The former defender also insisted that if this constituted a penalty, there would be "17-18" such spot-kicks in every half, particularly during corner situations.

Corriere dello Sport labelled referee Zwayer and VAR "incompetent". They wrote: "Bastoni's naivety is perhaps matched only by the referee's and VAR's incompetence.

"The shirt-snatching on Wirtz is laughable, and it wears off before the German player's tantrum, as he falls to the ground as soon as he feels his shirt is being dropped. Zwayer lets play continue, and VAR steps in where it shouldn't."

The publication also argued that Konate's chalked-off goal in the first half was rightly disallowed. They added: "Van Dijk's header, the ball hit Ekitike's left arm, was: a) very wide (almost shoulder height); b) interfering and decisive (without that touch the ball would never have reached Konaté) and therefore should be considered punishable."

Meanwhile, Italian publication Gazzetta reported that the match was tainted by a "VAR error". Their match analysis said: "The key moment came with five minutes to go. Bastoni held onto Wirtz's shirt, a gesture that wasn't repeated or overwhelming. The call was excessive, and so was the penalty awarded."