Genoa coach Alberto Gilardino exhibited remarkable composure and magnanimity upon viewing footage confirming an erroneous penalty call in favor of Inter. In response, he simply stated, “Humans make mistakes.”
Among the few teams to have secured points against Inter in this Serie A season, Genoa stands out, having secured a 1-1 draw with them back in December.
During their recent encounter at San Siro, Genoa displayed resilience, despite conceding to a goal by Kristjan Asllani and a contentious penalty converted by Alexis Sanchez. Despite their efforts, goals by Johan Vasquez and an offside Vitinha strike were insufficient.
Initially perceived as a harsh decision, the penalty awarded to Inter appeared contentious, as Nicolò Barella’s shot had seemingly been deflected by Morten Frendrup. However, alternative camera angles revealed that Frendrup had indeed deflected the ball onto the side-netting, constituting a legitimate block rather than a foul.
Despite encouragement to review the incident via the VAR monitor, referee Giovanni Ayroldi upheld his initial judgment.
Furthermore, it’s noteworthy that the VAR footage presented to Ayroldi lacked the crucial angle from behind the goal, where it was evident that Frendrup had made contact with the ball.
“It didn’t look like a penalty on the field and now seeing the footage we have the certainty,” Gilardino told Sky Sport Italia.
“When the referee called over to the VAR, he has to evaluate it again, but he didn’t. Let’s just say it is very dubious, but I prefer to talk about the performance from my lads of great courage and quality.
“It’s disappointing, as incidents change games, but we had the right approach throughout against a strong team, my lads gave our all and I am pleased with the performance.”
During a weekend marked by notable controversy and fervent discourse concerning officiating judgments, Gilardino was queried regarding the methods by which individuals might cultivate a similar level of magnanimity in addressing such circumstances.
“I think the referee and VAR need to communicate, but above all the referee should be very open to listening to the VAR. Seeing as VAR is available, the referees on the field need to stop even if it takes a few minutes to evaluate.
“After that, they are human beings, everyone can make mistakes, but the odds of a mistake ought to be reduced when you view the footage again, that is for sure.”
An additional error was committed by Ayroldi, as his failure to acknowledge the severity of the Frendrup challenge, deemed a foul, despite already being cautioned, would have warranted a second yellow card.
An additional mistake was committed by Ayroldi, as his failure to address the challenge posed by Frendrup as a severe foul overlooked the fact that he was already carrying a yellow card, thus rendering him liable for a second caution. Genoa initiated proceedings with a more promising performance and squandered a glaring opportunity when Albert Gudmundsson failed to convert a rebound from Yann Sommer’s save on Mateo Retegui, prior to the Asllani goal.
“There are regrets, of course, and this penalty was a crucial moment in the match. Mind you, talking about my lads, we didn’t deal with certain incidents in the right way, but showed considerably more focus and concentration in the second half.”
Gilardino employs a 3-5-2 tactical formation, akin to that utilized by Simone Inzaghi. However, he acknowledges the necessity for specific adjustments contingent upon prevailing circumstances.
“This system is malleable, we can change the approach depending on the players used. With Messias or Gudmundsson as a mezz’ala, the wing-backs pushing down the flanks and recovering the ball quickly, that is a more attacking interpretation of the system.
“The intention is to create a high press, overlaps, play with courage and cause the opposition problems. I think that is what I saw in the second half.”
The Genoa coach was asked what makes Inter so far ahead of everyone else in Serie A this season.
“They are strong in possession, attack the space when passing to feet and all their strikers have different characteristics that can combine differently. They have attacking wing-backs, solid and very physical defenders, while their substitutes are of a high level too.
“This is a team with a strong identity, it was built intelligently, and the credit for that goes to Simone Inzaghi.”