Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan – Controversial Audio Communication Between Referee & Assistant Revealed: “It’s A Penalty” | OneFootball

An audio exchange between the referee and assistant that resulted in a penalty in Saturday’s game between Napoli and Inter Milan has emerged.

During the latest episode of DAZN’s Open Var via FCInter1908, Maurizio Mariani’s communication with Daniele Bindoni came to light.

Napoli secured a 3-1 home win over Inter on Saturday, but the game was riddled with controversy.

Indeed, Antonio Conte’s side broke the deadlock midway through the first half, largely thanks to assistant referee Daniele Bindoni.

Despite refusing to sanction minimal contact between Giovanni Di Lorenzo and Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mariani eventually awarded a penalty to Napoli.

However, Bindoni’s intervention greatly influenced the 43-year-old’s decision.

Though he was not in a perfect position to assess the incident properly, he urged Maurizio Mariani to review the situation.

After consulting with the VAR booth, Mariani changed his mind, pointing to the spot, which helped Napoli take the lead.

Mariani’s decision caused frustration and outrage among Inter players and staff, but it was beyond their control.

Controversial Audio Tape from Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan Revealed

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Even the VAR booth didn’t see any foul play.

“Nothing, then we’ll check it, though,” VAR referees communicated to Mariani.

“I saw it, guys,” he replied. Then, Bindoni came into play. “Watch out, it’s a penalty, watch out, it’s a penalty,” he said.

“Are you sure?” Mariani asked. “It’s a penalty, it’s a penalty, it’s a penalty,” Bindoni replied.

Then, the VAR officials revisited the incident.

“Let’s check. Here, he definitely hits him from behind. We’re talking about Mkhitaryan.

“It’s true that he positions himself in the way, but he does it to reach…

“He doesn’t spread his leg to gain space; he spreads it to protect the ball. We only have to see what Mkhitaryan does. Well, anyway…

“Look at Di Lorenzo’s face, it’s on the ball as he’s going to shoot. Guys, we can’t take it away just because there’s contact and we can’t assess the intensity of the contact, so the dynamic is that he doesn’t spread to try…

“He’s just trying to protect the ball. The penalty is confirmed, the foul is by Mkhitaryan.

“We tell you, Di Lorenzo spreads his leg; he protects the ball.