Inter director Beppe Marotta insists the Nerazzurri deserve to be Serie A leaders and plays down VAR controversy: ‘The best team will win the title.’
The Nerazzurri have been crowned ‘Campioni d’Inverno’, finishing the Girone d’anadata at the top of the Serie A table with a two-point lead over Juventus.
However, there were controversial referee decisions in their latest two games. Marko Arnautovic scored against Genoa after an apparent Yann Aurel Bisseck foul in the build-up, while Alessandro Bastoni’s elbow on Hellas Verona’s Ondrej Duda was ignored prior to Davide Frattesi’s late winner on Saturday.
Marotta spoke to reporters at Lega Serie A after an event on Monday afternoon.
“First of all, I am here to assess the Girone d’Andata, and Inter’s merits must be recognised,” Marotta said, as quoted by Fcinter1908.it.
“Inter are deservedly the table leaders thanks to a work culture that has been applied intensely, a great sense of belonging from everyone, the solidity of the club and an undisputed heritage that is represented by our fans. This must be recognised.
“Stats sometimes represent facts objectively and stats say we are the leaders with 48 points, 15 wins and only one defeat. The best attack, the best defence and the best goal difference. This means we are authoritatively leading the ranking.
“Controversy and criticism must involve the entire Italian football and we must accept and manage them,” continued the Nerazzurri director.
“Everyone wanted VAR and we must stress that it was introduced to reduce referees’ errors, not to eliminate them completely. I think this target has been reached. If there is subjectivity, there can be a human error too, but I won’t discuss this. However, I am sure that the team will win the title in the end.
“With my experience, I’ve learned how to deal with certain situations and we can’t even think that a club, in this case Inter, has been favoured. I want to stress that Inter’s merits lie on the pitch.”
The last time the Nerazzurri won the Serie A title was in 2020-21 with Antonio Conte in charge.
Inter’s next Serie A game is against Monza at the U-Power Stadium on Saturday, January 13.
Another carton scudetto coming Inter‘s way.