Gianluca Rocchi blasted Maurizio Mariani following a horror show in Saturday’s Serie A clash between Napoli and Inter Milan.

Speaking on DAZN’s latest Open VAR episode via FCInter1908, Rocchi delivered his verdict on another ‘soft’ penalty awarded in Serie A.

Maurizio Mariani was right not to point to the spot after Giovanni Di Lorenzo hit the ground amid minimal contact with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

However, assistant referee Daniele Bindoni urged his colleague to review the incident with the VAR booth.

Furthermore, the 43-year-old overturned his initial decision after consulting with the side-pitch monitor, resulting in a phantom penalty.

Kevin De Bruyne made no mistake from the spot, putting Napoli in front at halftime.

Though Inter fell apart in the second half, the game could’ve gone a different way had it not been for Mariani’s controversial decision.

Yet, the fact remains that Inter lost the match 3-1 and slumped to fourth in the standings as a result of the referee’s grave error.

Gianluca Rocchi Offers His Verdict on Napoli 3-1 Inter Milan Horror Show

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“This is a very unusual incident, and we have a major procedural problem,” Rocchi admitted. “The referee may not have seen it.

“In that case, he communicates it more to the VAR than to the assistant.

“This is also my impression after speaking with Maurizio.

“With the assistants, we’ve tried to develop a process because we’re aiming to turn them into ‘mini-referees.’

“Since the arrival of VAR, their work with offside decisions has been limited.

“We’ve tried to turn their role into technical support. What I didn’t like at all this matchday was Bindoni’s interference, which went beyond what we asked him to do.

“We instructed assistants to intervene only in 100% clear situations and within their area of responsibility, certainly not in this case.

“Moreover, the referee was in control. Therefore, for us, this decision is incorrect -it’s not a penalty.

“We would have expected an OFR. I assign a lot of responsibility to the assistant, partly to the referee who blows the whistle, and also to the VAR.

“However, I’ve ranked them according to responsibility.”

Rocchi Blasts VAR Reaction

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TORREON, MEXICO – FEBRUARY 19:Picture of the VAR system prior the 9th round match between Santos Laguna and Cruz Azul as part of the Torneo Clausura 2025 Liga MX at Corona Stadium on February 19, 2025 in Torreon, Mexico. (Photo by Manuel Guadarrama/Getty Images)

Asked what went wrong with the VAR review, Gianluca Rocchi replied: “Beyond checking whether Di Lorenzo extends his leg to protect himself or not.

“The fact that there is contact and they should not intervene is something I really don’t like hearing.

“If there is contact, even light, you intervene. Our intervention line is that we want clear penalties, clear interventions to prevent goals.

“We want a lower threshold for serious fouls and violent conduct.

“We have to be very strict and interventionist, but we must ensure that game-changing penalties meet a high standard.

“For us, this was below that threshold.

“The VAR should have intervened because the whole thing arose from a very strange, abnormal procedure.

“If the penalty had been awarded by Mariani, it would have been accepted differently, and we would have supported it more easily.

“We didn’t like the procedural process at all,” Rocchi was adamant.

Despite Rocchi’s brutal verdict, Inter still found no comfort, once again falling victim to a bizarre refereeing decision.