Napoli coach Walter Mazzarri boycotted the Supercoppa Italiana ceremony after defeat to Inter, so President Aurelio De Laurentiis said the referees are ‘having a nightmare.’
The Partenopei were fuming at the referee in the first half when Hakan Calhanoglu needed three big fouls before receiving a yellow card, as they felt he should’ve been carded earlier.
The fury erupted on the hour mark when instead Giovanni Simeone received his second yellow card for a ‘step on foot’ and left his team down to 10 men.
Mazzarri was spotted on the bench shouting ‘shame on you’ at the decision.
Napoli were hoping to hold on for penalties in Riyadh, but Lautaro Martinez snatched a winner from close range in stoppages.
At that moment, Mazzarri stormed off down the tunnel, was not at the ceremony where the medals were handed out and did not speak to the media, instead sending President De Laurentiis.
“We are in the midst of the transfer window, we have already made three new signings, one of whom is playing, another two are coming in. Napoli are still a work in progress,” De Laurentiis told Mediaset.
“Having said that, we do not blame those who won, and luck is a big factor in these things, but I saw a Napoli team that is growing.
“Despite being down to 10 men, despite all the absences, I saw a Napoli that caused all sorts of problems for Inter. When the ball goes into the net, you cannot recriminate for that.”
The patron vented his fury at everyone from the Lega Serie A to the Referees’ Association chief Gianluca Rocchi, but with thinly-veiled sarcasm rather than open rage.
“I am sad for Rocchi, who is having a nightmare. The fans are the fans, when I turn into a fan, I can hit very hard indeed. I don’t think that is necessary this time.
“The weakness of the referees this season – not just towards Napoli, but towards everyone – is clear for all to see. In fact, I sat with Rocchi before the game and wondered what huge embarrassment he would have to deal with next.
“Just as Saudi Arabia use us to promote themselves, we should’ve used them to promote Italian football, yet it was ruined by one of the teams going down to 10 men.”
Because Simeone was sent off, he will be suspended for the next Serie A fixture this weekend.
“The Lega does not work in Italy, so we also end up paying for all the cards in Serie A, so this Supercoppa that counts for very little ends up damaging the real focus of our season.”
This was the first Supercoppa Italiana to have a Final Four format, with Lazio and Fiorentina disposed of 3-0 in the semi-finals, all those games played at the Al-Awwal Park Stadium in Riyadh.
“The marvellous thing about this Supercoppa Final Four is that I didn’t want it four or five months ago, because there are too many games already and we should not have added fixtures outside of Italy too. I think from next season, with the increase of games that UEFA have already imposed in all competitions, there is no real reason for this trophy to exist,” added De Laurentiis.
“I was surprised to discover a Saudi Arabia that has shown remarkable growth and democratisation, making it the new centre of the commercial world. I saw a place that overshadows Disneyland. They have 100,000 cranes working to build a new nation that will challenge everyone.
“They are very smart to use these football tournaments as a sort of advert to attract people, and it will go even more in 2030 with the World Cup, but I don’t think we will wait that long. I can see things growing so much within six months.”
#SupercoppaItaliana | @sscnapoli, #DeLaurentiis "È un Napoli ancora in fieri, però io stasera ho visto un Napoli in crescita e che ha dato filo da torcere a un'@Inter abbastanza imprecisa. Credo che dall'anno prossimo questa Supercoppa non debba più aver ragione di esistere"
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) January 22, 2024