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Italian referee Daniele Orsato found himself having to make a huge call in the second half of the Champions League semi-final second leg between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund, initially signalling for a penalty for Ousmane Dembele, before changing his mind and awarding a free-kick instead.

Orsato almost awards a penalty

With the score on the night standing at 1-0 in favour of Dortmund, 2-0 to the Germans on aggregate, PSG were beginning to apply serious pressure in the final third.

Dembele tried to twist and turn his way into the Dortmund area after 64 minutes, before being clipped by Mats Hummels on the edge of the box.

Orsato, who had also refereed the second leg of the quarter-final between Real Madrid and Man City last month, initially pointed to the spot for a penalty, before changing his mind and awarding a free-kick on the edge of the area instead.

There was a momentary delay as his all-Italian team in the VAR booth confirmed his decision.

As can be seen on the replays, Orsato’s second call was correct, as the Hummels made contact with Dembele right on the edge of the area, even though the German initiated his tackle inside the box.

Massimiliano Irrati and his assistant Paolo Valeri eventually gave the green light to award the free-kick, which was fired into the wall by Marco Asensio.

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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