Serie A | Bologna 1-0 Udinese: Rossoblu grateful after tight penalty call

Federico Bernardeschi fired Bologna into a 1-0 victory at home against Udinese in Serie A on Monday evening as a lengthy VAR check resulted in a surprising penalty being awarded in favour of the Rossoblu at the Dall’Ara.

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Tommaso Pobega registered the game’s first shot on target 35 minutes in with a relatively tame effort from distance, which Maduka Okoye had no issue with claiming.

Santiago Castro also decided to test the Udinese stopper with a powerful striker from over 30 yards out a few minutes later. Okoye didn’t catch it cleanly, but still had enough space and time to clear up the spill.

Udinese came close to conceding from a defensive disaster when Christian Kabasele fell asleep and failed to clear a loose ball at the back, which allowed Riccardo Orsolini to slip in one-on-one. Fortunately for the visitors, the Bologna forward didn’t connect properly with the ball and Jordan Zemura pulled out an excellent goalline block from Jonathan Rowe’s follow-up.

BOLOGNA, ITALY - FEBRUARY 23: Riccardo Orsolini of Bologna FC during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Udinese Calcio at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium on February 23, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) — FEBRUARY 23: Riccardo Orsolini of Bologna FC during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Udinese Calcio at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on February 23, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Bologna eventually broke the deadlock through Bernardeschi from the penalty spot in the 75th minute. The decision to award the spot-kick was not particularly straightforward, though.

Initially, a free-kick had been awarded right on the edge of the penalty area for a foul on Castro.

There were not any major protests from the Bologna team, the Udinese wall had been set up and the Rossoblu players looked like they were preparing to pull out a set-piece routine, but referee Matteo Marcenaro overturned the decision two minutes later and gave a penalty instead.

BOLOGNA, ITALY - FEBRUARY 23: Referee Marcenaro gestures for penalty during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Udinese Calcio at Renato Dall'Ara Stadium on February 23, 2026 in Bologna, Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images) — FEBRUARY 23: Referee Marcenaro gestures for penalty during the Serie A match between Bologna FC 1909 and Udinese Calcio at Renato Dall’Ara Stadium on February 23, 2026 in Italy. (Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

It was Jesper Karlstrom who had committed the offence, and replays showed that he had initiated contact, albeit only slightly, inside the penalty, which continued into the D.

Bernardeschi stepped up and sent his penalty to his left, sending Okoye the wrong way in the process.

This was enough for Bologna to claim all three points, which means they are now back up to eighth place in the Serie A table on 36 points from 26 matches. Udinese remain in 11th with 32 points to their name.