Gleison Bremer acknowledged that “by the rules it is a penalty and we have to accept it” after a disputed spot-kick played a key role in Atalanta’s 3-0 Coppa Italia victory over Juventus.
Juventus had made the brighter start in the quarter-final in Bergamo and came close to scoring when Francisco Conceicao struck the crossbar, but the match shifted after 25 minutes.
Ederson did not appeal when his cross deflected off Bremer and was gathered by Mattia Perin, yet VAR later determined the ball had touched the defender’s arm. Referee Michael Fabbri was sent to the pitchside monitor and subsequently pointed to the penalty spot.
Bremer and Juventus move past the controversy
“It’s honestly hard to comment, because according to the rules it is a penalty,” Bremer told Sport Mediaset.
“As a defender, I would obviously say it’s not, but the referee made the decision and we must accept it. It’s the kind of call that changes a match, but there’s nothing we can do about it.
“In any case, it happened in the first half and we still had an hour to try and turn things around.”
Former referee Graziano Cesari, speaking in the studio, observed that replays showed Bremer’s arm did not move toward the ball and was positioned naturally while he was running.
He even described this type of decision as “anti-football,” though Bremer preferred to concentrate on Juventus’ overall display.
The visitors were unable to take their chances, while Atalanta were ruthless in scoring twice more late on through Kamaldeen Sulemana and Mario Pasalic.
“It’s something that also happened against Cagliari and Lecce, so we need to be more clinical,” the Brazilian stressed.
“We have only just begun this new chapter with the coach, so we are heading in the right direction even if we made mistakes today. We must also apologise to the supporters, because losing 3-0 is too heavy, but we have to respond immediately in the next match.”
Atalanta will now meet either Bologna or Lazio in the Coppa Italia semi-final.
