Former Serie A referee Luca Marelli delivered his verdict on Maurizio Mariani after a controversial Serie A match between Napoli and Inter Milan.
Speaking to DAZN via FCInter1908, Marelli slammed the 43-year-old’s decision to award a ‘non-existing’ penalty to the Partenopei.
Despite back-to-back losses in the build-up to Saturday’s clash, Napoli stunned Inter at the Maradona.
Indeed, Antonio Conte’s side picked up a relatively comfortable 3-1 home win to overtake AC Milan at the top of the table.
However, Maurizio Mariani contributed significantly to Napoli’s triumph.
Indeed, his decision to punish Henrikh Mkhitaryan over a minimal contact with Giovanni Di Lorenzo set the tone for Napoli’s win.
Though he initially refused to point to the spot, the experienced referee reversed his decision after consulting with the VAR booth.
Mariani’s decision remains a subject of intense debate, with many questioning whether the contact truly warranted a penalty.
Furthermore, assistant referee Daniele Bindoni has come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
He forced Mariani to change his mind, despite being out of position.
Luca Marelli Slams Maurizio Mariani over Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan Controversy
“The Napoli-Inter penalty wasn’t initiated by Di Lorenzo,” Marelli stated. “He created it.
“Mkhitaryan doesn’t alter the ball’s direction at all, and there’s no movement toward Di Lorenzo.
“It’s Di Lorenzo who creates the contact, and I repeat, this isn’t a penalty that was sought – it was created.
“And it’s a penalty awarded by assistant Bindoni, that we know.
“The play continues, and when Mariani blows the whistle, he’s actually looking toward Bindoni.
“The assistant is at least 20–22 meters away, which makes it problematic if he intervenes when the referee is less than 10 meters away.
“And in any case, there’s VAR. It’s certainly a penalty that shouldn’t have been awarded.”
Napoli halted Inter’s scintillating seven-game winning streak as a result of Mariani’s decision.
the Mafia said no.
a rematch should take place since a major error changed the match through ref error and rule breaking by the assistant ref/var.
this isn’t just a bad decision but far more because the refs broke protocol that is there to create a fair playing field and decision making process.
it’s only fair.
As u can see ,Napoli gets a helping hand ,when there r crucial matches fifty fifty decisions always in their favour ,why do u think they win the league last year.
Yes the refs decision to give the penalty was terrible and also Inter’s defending especially Acerbi was relegation level BUT Lautaro missed TWO big chances with basically an open goal. Like if he missed 1 and scored 1 that’s fine but 2 big chances. For as much as he’s given credit including getting a penalty but he must be criticised for his terrible decision making inside the box. He scores one of those chances Inter would be having a different conversation.
Di Lorenzo should get a yellow card for what he did to Mhiki….and he did it deliberataly.
Mhiki was our the best defensive player in first 30 minutes before he get an injury. And after he left
it became a disaster zone.
in serie a refs are afraid of some teams especially when some are shouting on touch line. the league is full of loyalty 2 mafias period!
why are we forgetting gilmour not getting a second yellow. he deserved a yellow each for the studs on chala and the shirt pull on denzel