Skip to content
CREMONA, ITALY – MARCH 16: Referee Marco Di Bello reacts during the Serie A match between US Cremonese and ACF Fiorentina at Stadio Giovanni Zini on March 16, 2026 in Cremona, Italy. (Photo by Marco M. Mantovani/Getty Images)
Italian VAR Marco Di Bello came under fire during the Champions League semi-final between Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain, but the IFAB rules explain why he was correct.
- Read Football Italia Ad-Free and get access to Exclusive News and Content – Free Trial – Click Here
The 44-year-old Italian official was in the booth for tonight’s match at the Allianz Arena in Munich, the second leg after a 5-4 thriller in Paris last week.
Di Bello representing Italy in Champions League
He infuriated Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany and the fans when deciding not to intervene after the ball clearly struck Joao Neves on the outstretched arm.
Referee Joao Pinheiro of Portugal had also not pointed to the spot for the incident, but he waited for confirmation from Di Bello and was told to play on.
This caused a huge amount of controversy in the media and in the stadium itself, but the IFAB rules show Di Bello was right not to suggest an On-Field Review.
It is because the ball was fired onto Joao Neves’ arm by PSG teammate Vitinha.
In their bid to clarify the handball rules, IFAB added a caveat to the laws of the game, noting specifically that it is not a handling offence if a player is “hit on the hand/arm by the ball which has been played by a team-mate (unless the ball goes directly into the opponents’ goal or the player scores immediately afterwards, in which case a direct free-kick is awarded to the other team).”
When it came to another handball row earlier on Nuno Mendes and PSG wanted a second yellow card, Di Bello could not get involved, as the VAR is not allowed to deal with bookings unless they are to be upgraded to straight red cards.
