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You be the judge: Was this a penalty on Napoli?

The referee thought this was a foul and a penalty on Faouzi Ghoulam. We're not so sure.

This play saw Torino awarded a penalty that allowed them to equalize the scoreline at 1-1 against Napoli through a Fabio Quagliarella strike that Pepe Reina couldn't quite turn around the post. The question is, though, should this have been called against Faouzi Ghoulam? You decide.


Ghoulam provoque un penalty contre le Torino! by lagazettedufennec

Our take: Ghoulam should never, ever have made that challenge. It was dangerous from the start, and in that situation -- with the angle of Bruno Peres' run and how fast the ball was coming in there -- nothing dangerous was coming of it. That said, it's not a penalty. Ghoulam got the ball, then Peres came across him. I won't say that Peres made a meal of it or dived or anything, it legit looks like his momentum brings him across Ghoulam and he trips, but that doesn't make it a foul. The ball is going well away and out for a corner by the time Peres makes contact. Again, it's a bad challenge and a sloppy one and a dumb one to make in the first place, but that doesn't automatically make it a foul.

Fortunately, Napoli scored again before the half, so it doesn't matter. Much. For now.