Italian Media Slams Referee After “Absurd” Penalty In Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan | OneFootball

The controversial penalty awarded to Napoli in Saturday’s 3-1 win over Inter continues to dominate the post-match fallout, with Italian media strongly criticising referee Maurizio Mariani for the decision that opened the scoring at the Maradona.

The match official received a damning assessment, with the spot-kick described as an “absurd” decision.

According to the Gazzetta analysis, the foul given for minimal contact between Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Giovanni Di Lorenzo was a decisive moment in a match that had been finely balanced.

The criticism focused on how the incident unfolded, with the assistant referee effectively making the decision.

Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan – Mariani Stumbles As VAR ‘Did The Right Thing’

While Mariani came under fire, the VAR received a far more positive assessment, with the review room judged to have “done the right thing” by not intervening.

Indeed, as protocol requires silence in cases where contact exists.

De Bruyne converted the penalty to give Napoli a lead in the first half, deciding the game state for the following hour.

Napoli doubled their lead in the second half with a fine goal from McTominay.

However, Inter pulled a goal back as Hakan Calhanoglu scored from the spot.

It was not enough, however, for the Nerazzurri, with Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa completing the scoring with twenty minutes to play.