Penalty or not? Controversial incident with Yamal's fall in Inter vs Barca clash
The second UEFA Champions League semifinal between Inter and Barcelona was rife with contentious decisions. Fans are still debating the penalty awarded against the Catalans for a foul on Lautaro Martínez, as well as the alleged spitting incident involving Iñigo Martínez and Acerbi. But the match brought yet another controversial moment.
In the second half, Lamine Yamal came within centimeters of winning a penalty for his team. As the young Barça star darted into the Inter box, Henrikh Mkhitaryan committed a foul against him.
The main question was where exactly the infringement took place. Replays showed that the initial contact of the foul occurred just outside the penalty area, but the final phase—including Yamal's fall—happened inside the box.
Apparently, VAR officials, when reviewing the incident, focused on the point of first contact by Mkhitaryan. It's possible that referee Szymon Marciniak was demonstrating to the players just how close Barcelona came to earning a penalty: holding two fingers apart, just a few centimeters between them.
Let’s recall, Inter and Barça are still battling to determine the first UEFA Champions League finalist. At the end of the second half of the second leg, the aggregate score stands at 5-5.
Ileana Sanchez
Dailysports's expert
