Inter forward Marcus Thuram unexpectedly used his hand to grasp the sensitive area of Atletico defender Stefan Savic during extra time in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16 match on the early morning of March 14, 2023. VAR did not intervene in the incident.
Thuram’s inappropriate action towards Atletico’s defender With Atletico leading Inter 2-1 at the Metropolitan Stadium and the aggregate score tied at 2-2, drama unfolded in extra time in what was considered a “bizarre” situation. Thuram, the forward, suddenly used his hand to grab the sensitive area of his colleague Savic from Atletico in a disputed ball situation.
The home team players reacted vehemently to Polish referee Szymon Marciniak to request a red card for the French striker. VAR reviewed the situation but did not intervene. Immediately, coach Simone Inzaghi substituted Thuram (102′) out for Alexis Sanchez.
However, this proved to be an erroneous decision by the Italian coach. Sanchez missed the second penalty shootout with a shot straight into the center of the goal, but goalkeeper Jan Oblak managed to push the ball away with his hand.
Thuram’s controversial move stirred up social media. Some made humorous remarks like “This guy seems to have focused on the wrong ball!” or “Thuram seems to have mastered the game”… Yet many expressed indignation: “Why wasn’t he shown a red card for that?”, “Surely that card should be red???”, “The VAR controller must have been in the restroom during this situation!”…
Apart from this incident, Thuram’s performance in the match in Spain was also lackluster. This contributed to Inter’s inability to replicate their Champions League final appearance from the previous season.
Now, Inter will only have one front left: Serie A, where they currently hold a 16-point lead over second-placed Milan with a streak of 10 consecutive wins. Since the start of the season, Inzaghi’s team has only lost once in Serie A when they unexpectedly fell 1-2 to Sassuolo at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium on September 28, 2023.