Inter’s meeting with Parma was settled early enough to spare referee Bonacina a difficult afternoon in terms of match control, but not before a decisive VAR intervention corrected the game’s main officiating error.
A penalty initially missed
Bonacina was judged at 5.5 after an opening phase in which two incidents went against his initial reading. The most significant came when Parma defender Diego Carlos arrived late and stepped on the right foot of Pio Esposito inside the area.
The referee did not spot the infringement in real time, but VAR official Paterna asked him to review the episode on the pitchside monitor. After the on-field review, Bonacina awarded Inter the penalty.
- Diego Carlos’ late contact on Pio Esposito was deemed sufficient for a spot-kick.
- Paterna’s VAR review led Bonacina to change his original decision.
- The intervention was considered correct and was central to the referee’s assessment.
It was the second Serie A penalty awarded following an on-field review this season, after Rapuano’s decision in Genoa-Frosinone.
Parma appeal rightly dismissed
Parma also had an appeal at the other end in the 40th minute of the first half, when El Bilal Touré went down in Inter’s penalty area following contact with Benjamin Pavard.
Pavard did make contact with Touré’s arm, but it was judged too slight to amount to a foul. The decision not to award Parma a penalty was considered correct.
Once the scoreline had shaped the contest, Bonacina faced few further management problems. He stayed close to play and handled the remainder of the match without major controversy.
A disciplinary omission
The main remaining criticism concerned the absence of cards. Bonacina did not book any player, although Inter midfielder Sucic should have been cautioned in the 14th minute for a reckless challenge on Mandela Keita.
- No yellow cards were shown during the match.
- Sucic’s challenge on Keita should have brought a booking.
- Aside from that omission and the missed Inter penalty, the officiating was largely straightforward.
Paterna received a 6.5 rating for identifying the Diego Carlos incident and ensuring that the decisive penalty call was corrected through VAR.
