An episode in the Turin area sparks Milan's protests in the second half of the match held at the "Olimpico Grande Torino", in the first week of Serie A 2026-2027. In a cross made by Cissé from the left, the ball reaches Nikola Vlasic at close range and is deflected into a corner kick after touching the right arm of the Turin midfielder, who is clearly detached from his body.
Referee Luca Zufferli immediately signals a corner kick. The VAR room, where Paolo Mazzoleni is, starts reviewing the episode, but there is no call for a review on the pitch: the decision made on the pitch is confirmed and Milan is not awarded a penalty.
Questo è RIGORE NETTO, è una vergogna #TorinoMilan pic.twitter.com/N1QnUaiVS0
— Matteo (@mattofra) August 23, 2026
Why VAR didn't intervene for Vlasic's handball
The footage shows contact between the ball and Vlasic's arm. However, the regulatory issue is related to the position of the limb and the dynamics of the movement, because Law 12 of the IFAB stipulates that not every touch with the hand or arm should be penalized. The foul is punished, among other things, when a footballer makes his body "unnaturally larger", through an arm position that is not a consequence of or cannot be justified by the movement performed in that particular situation.
In the case of Vlasic, Zufferli considered the contact to be unpunishable. The subsequent VAR check did not result in a review on the monitor: according to the protocol, Mazzoleni was only supposed to call the referee if he considered his assessment to be a “clear and obvious error”. The short distance between Cissé’s cross and Vlasic, as well as the player’s movement, are among the elements assessed in the action. However, the open position of the right winger remains visible in the picture, which is why the episode caused protests from the Rossoneri and fueled the discussion about the disagreement over the penalty.
