Japan have outplayed Italy in the early going in their Confederations Cup match and probably do deserve to lead on the balance of play. However, the way that they gained the lead was a bit suspect. Keisuke Honda converted from the spot after Gianluigi Buffon was whistled for hauling down Shinji Okazaki in the box, but was it a penalty?
Japan lead Italy on controversial penalty
It’s close, but the referee probably made a mistake. Buffon appears to get a lot of ball on a safe challenge, in front of Okazaki. Also, the referee showed a yellow card, despite it being a clear goal-scoring opportunity. Generally, an incident like that should result in a red card or a no-call. The fact that the referee gave neither suggests that he might not have been confident in his decision.
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