The seventh matchday of Serie A was marked by controversy due to refereeing decisions and VAR interventions. In the Fiorentina-Milan match (2-1), three penalties were awarded, two of them to Milan; meanwhile, in the Monza-Roma game (1-1), a blatant penalty on Tommaso Baldanzi was not given.

Despite Milan being awarded two penalties, Portuguese coach Paulo Fonseca was highly critical of VAR usage this season, claiming that "this is not football" due to the fact that every minor contact is being penalized.

"I don’t want to talk about the refereeing. I love football and I don’t want to contribute to this circus. Every little thing, every contact is a penalty. I’m not just talking about Milan, whether for or against us, but in general. This is not football," Fonseca told DAZN after the match.

Of the three penalties awarded during the match, none resulted in a goal. Fiorentina’s spot-kick was saved by French goalkeeper Mike Maignan, while Spanish keeper David De Gea stopped the two Milan penalties taken by Theo Hernández and Tammy Abraham.

Roma had their own complaints, but for the opposite reason: a penalty they believed should have been awarded in the dying minutes when Tommaso Baldanzi was blatantly stepped on. A similar incident in other games this season had been punished with a penalty, but not this time.

"I don’t usually come out to speak, but what happened today is unacceptable. The penalty was clear, and the whole world saw it," Roma’s sporting director, Florent Ghisolfi, furiously told DAZN.

"I understand the referee might not have seen it, but why didn’t VAR intervene? I demand respect. Roma demands respect. Everyone saw it. We want respect. Baldanzi is furious; he knows the penalty he suffered," Ghisolfi concluded.