The first finalist of the football Champions League has been determined. After securing a victory in the second match against Spanish Barcelona in overtime — 4:3, the Italian Inter became the finalist.
After the final whistle, the coaches and players of the "citizens" expressed their dissatisfaction with the actions of the refereeing team led by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak. Former FIFA referee Myroslav Stupar assessed the actions of the referee in the Milan confrontation.
“I do not believe that Marciniak was flawless, but his decisions did not affect the final result. In the episode at the end of the first half, he did not notice a foul by the Spaniard Kubarś, but after a hint from the VAR referee, he changed his decision and pointed to the 11-meter mark. Everything was clear during Çalhanoğlu’s penalty, because the rules do not state that the ball must be placed exactly in the center of the mark.
As for the two episodes that "Barcelona" focused on after the match, in the middle of the first half, after the fall of the home defender, his arm was in a natural position, and after the ball hit, no penalty is given for that. The moment was more complicated when the leader of the guests, Yamal, fell to the ground while battling Inter defenders. The referee ruled that there was no foul by the Milan players in the penalty area. However, to be frank, if the match had taken place in Barcelona, the referee’s verdict might have been different.
The critical statements from the Barcelonians can be explained by emotions, yet victory seemed to be already in their pocket. But on the other hand, in this unfortunate failure, there is also their fault, as with such helpless defense in crucial moments, one cannot conquer the peaks in the most prestigious European tournament,” said Stupar.