Juventus still without a penalty after eleven Serie A rounds, Corriere dello Sport reports

What happened

Juventus have reached eleven league matches without being awarded a single penalty in their favour, Corriere dello Sport reported, noting that the Turin club is not alone in that statistic. The newspaper said Roma, despite a considerably more intense attacking phase, are also among the leading sides yet to receive a spot kick. By contrast, it reported that Como have had one penalty awarded, the two Milan clubs two each, and league leaders Lazio three.

Report details

The topic gained attention after Sunday evening's handball by Joao Mario inside the Viola penalty area, which the report says was debated. According to Rocchi, the former Serie A refereeing designator now working as a DAZN commentator, it should have been a penalty: he acknowledged the ball came from a teammate but argued the arm was wide and that the player's ability to remove it made the incident worthy of a spot kick. Spalletti, the report says, did not comment directly, giving the impression he considered it a penalty without turning it into a controversy; he said he did not know, asked whether he could have a reserve question, and added that he did not need to see it again because he had already watched it on the pitch.

Corriere dello Sport also noted that Juventus have had neither penalties for nor against them, and that Inter, Como and Milan have likewise not conceded a penalty. It recalled other doubtful episodes this season, describing the most striking as De Winter's stamp on Kolo Muani in Juventus-Milan, which finished 1-1, at the start of the move that ended with Cisse's opening goal for the Rossoneri. The report said there was also controversy in the opposite direction: in Juventus-Atalanta, a blatant hold in the area by Kalulu on Rowe, illustrated by a still image showing the shirt stretched, brought no penalty and no VAR intervention, while Juventus-Parma prompted debate over a challenge by Alajbegovic on Keita.

The newspaper framed the discussion around what it called a moment of confusion in Italian refereeing, describing a shift from the Rocchi method, in which VAR's centrality was strong, to the Orsato method, in which technology seems almost an enemy, though it said recent rounds have seen an attempt to soften that tendency.