Juventus vs. Atalanta and the Disallowed Penalty: Maurizio Sarri’s Solution Is to Abolish VAR
Juventus vs. Atalanta, which the Bianconeri won 2-0, is a match destined to spark lengthy debate due to fresh refereeing controversies that Maurizio Sarri himself reignited with harsh words at a press conference. The subject of the debate is an incident in which Jonathan Rowe went down in the box after being held by Pierre Kalulu, yet referee Luca Zufferli did not award a penalty, nor did the VAR intervene to have him review the play. This series of events led the Atalanta coach to raise his voice after the match.
“VAR needs to be abolished,” Sarri thundered during the post-match press conference on Sunday. “If a penalty isn’t called after a hold like that, then VAR should be abolished. At this point, it’s better to just go with the referee’s judgment. The foul seemed pretty obvious to me; if there’s someone at VAR, they should at least take a look. Or go back to soccer decided by referees—if that were the case, I’d be happy.”
Atalanta’s problems remain, as the team has now suffered its third consecutive Serie A loss after winning its first two league games. “We managed to hold our own against Juventus for an hour; the second goal threw us off. Physically, technically, and tactically, we’re improving, but we’re not making progress in terms of courage and initiative. This worries me—I see little character when we go one-on-one. I’d like to see more personality, but we’re still too far behind, just as we were all summer. We made some signings in the last week and found players who didn’t join us until August, after the World Cup,” Sarri noted.
Former referee Luca Marelli added further weight to Sarri’s complaints when, during the live broadcast on DAZN, he analyzed the incident involving the missed penalty on Rowe. “There was a hold, and it was prolonged,” explained Marelli, emphasizing that the contact between Kalulu and the Atalanta forward was anything but negligible. As for the VAR’s inaction, the former referee offered a technical explanation: “If the VAR didn’t intervene, it’s because they assessed that it was a decision to be made on the field.” However, according to Marelli, the objective reality of the contact remains: “The jersey was pulled quite a bit, and there was intensity.”
From a technical standpoint, a review of the match paints a picture of Juventus dominating play from the opening minutes. Conceiçao broke the deadlock in the 28th minute, capitalizing on an assist from Celik to make it 1-0. In the second half, Atalanta tried to respond, opening up the game, with Kolo Muani and Nico Gonzalez coming close to doubling the lead on one end and Rowe posing a threat on the other. Carnesecchi kept the Nerazzurri in the game with a decisive save against McKennie, but in the 77th minute, Bremer sealed the victory with a header off a corner kick, beating the opposing goalkeeper for the final 2-0 score.
The day at Allianz Stadium was also marked by an off-field incident that sparked controversy. Before kickoff, the moment of silence in memory of Sandro Mazzola—the Inter and Italian national team legend who passed away on Saturday at the age of 83—was disrupted by chants from a section of the Juventus fan stand. While the two teams were lined up in midfield for the tribute organized by the Serie A League, some Juventus ultras turned their backs on the field and began chanting in honor of Gaetano Scirea, Andrea Fortunato, and Gianni Agnelli. Applause erupted from other sections of the stadium in an attempt to drown out the chants, but they remained clearly audible.
