Massimiliano Allegri expressed strong support for referee Daniele Chiffi’s judgment to grant Filip Kostic’s disputed goal as the decisive one, following Juventus’ 1-0 victory over Inter.
After 23 minutes at San Siro, Kostic scored a superb goal to put Juventus ahead, but a long VAR review ensued to determine if Adrien Rabiot had handled the ball in the build-up.
Despite the scrutiny, the goal was deemed valid, and Allegri’s team held on to their lead to secure their sixth victory in their last seven Serie A games, bringing them within seven points of the Champions League positions.
Allegri’s Juventus reduced their gap with the Champions League zone to 7 points
When asked about the decision to uphold the goal, Allegri promptly supported both Chiffi and the VAR’s choice to stick with the initial decision.
Allegri said: “Don’t make me angry.The referee’s decisions must be accepted. The decisions go one way or another.
“Let’s not make a lot of noise, it wasn’t easy for Chiffi to referee. Let’s talk about football, not referees.
“I said if VAR is objective, then it is functional, but if it becomes subjective, that is a problem. This tonight is an objective case, we have not made any controversy.
“The less we talk about referees, the more we help them.”
Manuel Locatelli, Rabiot, and Nicolò Fagioli are developing a formidable midfield trio. Especially with several players either sidelined due to injuries or relegated to the bench due to their performances.
“I said if VAR is objective, then it is functional, but if it becomes subjective, that is a problem“
“The whole team has improved in general. We defended well as a team, we never let them get past us. Unfortunately, we haven’t really had Pogba at all. Paredes did well at the start and then I used him less, but these are all reliable players.
“Fagioli has quality and quantity, Locatelli is very good at closing down moves in that role.
“I think Dusan Vlahovic had his best performance since he has been at Juventus. Matias Soule was born in 2003, he did well.
“Juve have been giving a lot of playing time to these NextGen players and that is a success for the club.
“As I said, it’s the choice of final ball when attacking we need to get right, but this team has heart and determination.
I always say that those who are not in this situation cannot understand what it is like. The team found itself with 15 points taken off, that is not easy. but we reached the Europa League quarter-finals, the Coppa Italia semi-final against this Inter and maintained the passion for what they are doing.
“Now we need to unite with our fans and start the push towards the end of the season.”
