Cremonese, it’s controversy over penalty not awarded in recovery

The defeat at home to Torino doesn&#8217t go down well with Cremonese: even after the triple whistle of referee Marinelli, the grigiorossi did not spare protests for the failure to award a penalty kick, with plenty of time expired, for an alleged irregular touch in the area, with the arm, by Giovanni Simeone. The match director, after consulting with VAR, in fact deemed the action regular, sparking protests from the guests. The’episode prolonged the match until 101′ when the referee sent everyone to the locker room sanctioning the success of the granata.

Cremonese coach Davide Nicola commented on the’episode in a press conference: “I saw the action, as always I speak my mind and accept the referee&#8217s decision: however, for me it was a touch that needed to be sanctioned, it increased the’encumbrance. The’referee interpreted it differently”. Midfielder Jari Vandeputte, who was on the bench at the time, also supports his coach&#8220s thesis: “To me it looked like a clear penalty– explained the Belgian, who was deployed as a starter and came out at 77′ to make way for Franco Vazquez -. The touch of the hand was seen, needless to say anything else: I could also be wrong, but it seemed to me that there was”.

The match between Torino and Cremonese, therefore, ended 1-0 as a result of Nikola Vlasic’s goal on 27′, a goal scored thanks to a right-footed first-time shot by the Croatian, which left no chance for Emil Audero, goalkeeper of the grigiorossi. Thus, Torino ended a six-game winless streak (and three defeats in a row before today), while Cremonese failed to win its third consecutive victory after those against Bologna away and Lecce at home. Toro will face, on the next day, Sassuolo in Reggio Emilia on Dec. 21, while Cremonese will be engaged at home to Lazio on Saturday, Dec. 20.

The challenge at the Olimpico Grande Torino thus leaves a polemical aftermath, but also important insights on both sides: the Granata success, in particular, restores confidence to Marco Baroni and his men, who were able to regain compactness and interrupt a negative series that was weighing on the team’s morale.

For Cremonese, on the other hand, there remains a bitter taste in the mouth for an episode that, according to him, conditioned the final and will inevitably be the focus of discussions in the coming days. Beyond recriminations, the grigiorossi will have to restart from the certainties built in recent weeks and the solidity shown against level opponents, with the goal of reacting immediately in the delicate away match against Lazio.