Milan prevailed in a hard-fought match against Genoa thanks to a late goal by Christian Pulisic, which was confirmed after a long VAR review couldn’t find conclusive evidence of a handball. Head referee Gianluca Rocchi explained the decision to DAZN (via Tuttomercatoweb).
“It went as I expected. We have always treated this infraction in the same way since we introduced the VAR. We intervene if there’s certainty on the screen, we don’t if there isn’t. That has been the case in every instance. I realize it’s difficult to accept, and we still have doubts about it. I wouldn’t be stupid to state the contrary.”
Milan were on the wrong end of a similar episode a couple of years ago when Destiny Udogie scored after perhaps handling the ball, but the VAR didn’t wave it off. Rocchi continued.
“It’s paramount that whoever operates the VAR seeks the truth meticulously. If we don’t get to a point where it’s 100 percent clear, we have to leave the decision to the referee on the pitch. The debate was understandable after the Udogie goal in Milan-Udinese too, but the rationale was the same. If you don’t find evidence, you can’t lean on a hunch.”
Milan are top of the table thanks to the narrow win, which was secured by Olivier Giroud’s heroics on goal following Mike Maignan’s red card.
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