Italian Journalist Matteo Marani After Inter Vs Juventus: “Refereeing Controversy Weighs Too Much On Football In Italy”

Italian journalist Matteo Marani believes that too much is made of the controversy around refereeing decisions is made in Italian football compared to in other countries.

Speaking to Italian broadcaster Sky Sport Italia, Marani reacted to the end of the Inter-Juventus match at the San Siro in which the Bianconeri grabbed a point with a late VAR penalty and suggested that the refereeing drama which dominated the discussions of the match is an aftermath of the Calciopoli scandal.

The Bianconeri were awarded a controversial late penalty for a clumsy Denzel Dumfries challenge that made contact with the foot of Alex Sandro, a moment which ultimately meant that the two teams shared the points.

Referee Maurizio Mariani initially waved play on after the incident but he was advised to have another look by VAR and upon review he decided that a spot kick was warranted.

The Nerazzurri players were visibly angry and coach Simone Inzaghi was shown a red card for his protestations, and Marani feels that the whole incident showed that refereeing is still too focused on in Italy.

“With the use of the VAR we;ve gotten a bit hung up,” he statedk “the risk is that of great confusion. Four years ago 19 penalties were given in nine days, the following year 44 were awarded for the explosion of hand fouls. This is the same number that is recorded today: they are applicable penalties, because there is contact.”

“Then we have no idea about the circumstances in which VAR intervenes,” he went on. “I think that the referees have too many indications to consider and are confused about how to decide.”

He stated that “In Italy there is a level of refereeing analysis unparalleled in Europe: there are no columns on the replay in the English newspapers or in Spain. We are all children of the Biscardi trial [Calciopoli] and we carry this with us: for the Inter fans there is no penalty, for the Juventus players it is clear.”

“Now there is no desire to understand how to go further,” Marani reflected, “it is a hypertrophy of refereeing, in itself I know that refereeing weighs too much in the game. The refereeing task is too big, the referee becomes the protagonist of the matches and everyone talks about the referee episode. But refereeing cannot become central to a match. The coaches, then, must stop putting pressure on the referees.”