Marin Pongracic’s apparent second goal for Fiorentina against Como was disallowed for offside after a Video Assistant Referee review lasting almost five minutes on Sunday.
Pongracic believed he had scored a quickfire brace to bring Fiorentina level after Como established a 2-0 lead in the first half of their Serie A match at the Stadio Franchi.
Como went ahead through Mattia Liberali before Nico Paz doubled their advantage. Pongracic pulled one goal back in the 42nd minute, then appeared to equalise in the closing moments of first-half stoppage time.
The defender connected with a free-kick from teenage Argentina international Franco Mastantuono, extending a leg to redirect the delivery beyond Como goalkeeper Jean Butez.
However, the goal was referred to VAR, with referee Marco Di Bello eventually confirming the offside decision after a check which lasted four and a half minutes.
Initial reports indicated that the delay was caused by a problem with the semi-automated offside technology (SAOT), which is used in every Serie A fixture.
As the system was not operating during the incident, officials had to rely on the older technology to assess the position of the players. The review was made more difficult by the number of players gathered inside the penalty area when Mastantuono delivered the free-kick.
Although three minutes had been added to the first half, the whistle for the interval was not blown until the clock showed 53 minutes.
The decision denied Pongracic what he thought was a second goal in quick succession and left Fiorentina still trailing at half-time.
