Milan vs. Napoli ended in controversy as Franck Kessié saw his late equaliser disallowed, but Italian media fail to offer a clear view of the incident.
Milan’s equaliser was disallowed as Olivier Giroud was considered an active offside position despite lying on the ground underneath a Napoli defender.
DAZN referee expert Luca Marelli said he was ‘surprised’ that an on-field review was taking place and La Gazzetta dello Sport tends to agree with the former referee.
However, the pink paper wrote it was correct to have an on-field review, although the goal shouldn’t have been disallowed because Giroud didn’t interfere with play.
Referee Davide Massa was rated 4.5/10 by the Milan-based paper that highlighted how the referee’s performance ‘had been excellent’ before the final incident. Massa shared the same rating with VAR referee Alessandro Di Paolo.
On the other hand, Tuttosport and Il Corriere dello Sport, offer a different view of the situation.
Corriere dello Sport even wrote that VAR referee Di Paolo ‘saved Massa’s game’ with his call.
The paper explained their view on the incident, writing that there was contact between Giroud and Napoli defender Juan Jesus and that the former Chelsea striker moved his legs trying to touch the ball. Therefore his offside position had to be considered active.