Penalty yes, penalty no, VAR check, penalty denied or confirmed. Football has changed, indeed, with the introduction of the Video Assistant Referee (translated as video assistance referee) in the 2017/18 season and the accompanying regulations – which have changed over time -. The hope was to erase once and for all the errors of evaluation made on the pitch by the match officials, also wiping out the much heated controversy between fans and others over the referee’s choices. Instead, as time passed, new problems arose due to oversights and mistakes, but not only that.
However, regardless of how VAR works and the possible improvements that could be made, a curious question arises: Who has received the most penalties in recent years? Remaining faithful to the ranking offered by Transfermarktwe note that Inter is in the lead in both penalty obtained (70) and by percentage of success (84%).
Juventus appears only in seventh place, with ten fewer penalties than the Nerazzurri and also Lazio, while Milan had four more. The data from Sassuolo, relegated at the end of last season, is incredible, with a terrifying average of scores from the spot: 50 goals from 58 shots. With Atalanta behind us and 53 penalties called in favor and 74% successful.
The top 15 ranking
1. Inter 70 penalties in favor – 84% achieved
2. Lazio 70 penalties in favor – 80% achieved
3. Roma 66 penalties in favor – 82% achieved
4. Milan 64 penalties in favor – 75% achieved
5. Napoli 61 penalties in favor – 77% achieved
6. Fiorentina 61 penalties in favor – 77% achieved
7. Juventus 60 penalties in favor – 77% achieved
8. Sassuolo 58 penalties in favor – 86% achieved
9. Atalanta 53 penalties in favor – 74% achieved
10. Genoa 44 penalties in favor – 77% achieved
11. Sampdoria 44 penalties in favor – 77% achieved
12. Verona 37 penalties in favor – 84% achieved
13. Bologna 35 penalties in favor – 86% achieved
14. Torino 33 penalties in favor – 85% achieved
15. Cagliari 30 penalties in favor – 73% achieved
16. Udinese 30 penalties in favor – 70% achieved