Italian Media Blast Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan Referee: “Rigour Was An Illusion – Mariani Officiated In Delay” | OneFootball

Italian media have torn into referee Maurizio Mariani for his handling of Napoli 3-1 Inter, branding the first-half penalty incident “an illusion” that opened the match in the wrong direction.

According to the Corriere dello Sport’s assessment, Mariani “officiated in delay, changing his mind eight seconds later on the advice of his assistant.”

The episode in question came when Giovanni Di Lorenzo went down after minimal contact with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

“It was all light, a soft touch at most,” the analysis states.

Indeed, claiming the referee initially waved play on before “turning around eight seconds later after a whisper from assistant Bindoni.”

Kevin De Bruyne converted the spot kick to give Napoli the lead in the first half. From here, Inter struggled to fight back into the game.

Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan – Frustrations Grow At Referee Mariani

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The contrast with the second penalty only fuelled frustration, as the review notes.

“One imaginary penalty was given, while a real one, the handball by Buongiorno, wasn’t even seen until VAR intervened.”

The conclusion was blunt.

“A soft penalty, a real penalty missed, and a key booking ignored – Mariani officiated in delay.”

Inter must now bounce back from this setback and show mental strength to recover in the Scudetto race.