Roma complained for two reasons about the second Lazio goal in this evening’s Derby della Capitale, but VAR gave the all-clear.
Manuel Lazzari pounced on a Roger Ibanez error and went down in the penalty area, but when the spot-kick wasn’t forthcoming, he got back on his feet to pass it back for the Luis Alberto goal.
There were two protests about this goal during the first half at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma complained for two reasons about the second Lazio goal in this evening’s Derby della Capitale, but VAR gave the all-clear.
Manuel Lazzari pounced on a Roger Ibanez error and went down in the penalty area, but when the spot-kick wasn’t forthcoming, he got back on his feet to pass it back for the Luis Alberto goal.
There were two protests about this goal during the first half at the Stadio Olimpico.
On the first, they felt that Lazzari had fallen on the ball with his arm during the initial coming together with Ibanez.
Under the existing rules, if the ball touches the arm of an attacking player in the build-up to a goal, it will be disallowed, regardless of whether it was intentional.
However, replays seem to suggest Lazzari fell without touching the ball with his arm.
As the move continued, Felipe Caicedo was in an offside position close to the six-yard box when the Luis Alberto shot came in.
However, VAR considered he was not interfering with play, as Pau Lopez had a clear view of the Luis Alberto shot.
Caicedo was also believed to be not in the goalkeeper’s path when Lopez attempted the save.
On this second point, it is open to interpretation, and the VAR could just as easily have recalled the referee to view it again and make a decision on whether Caicedo was interfering with play.
While offside is objective and therefore can be decided by VAR independently, the referee is given the power of evaluating whether it is interfering with play.