Walter Mazzarri opted not to speak after the 3-0 defeat to Inter, as Napoli director Mauro Meluso outlined their fury at ‘an off day for the referee and VAR.’
This felt like passing on the baton, as the reigning Champions of Italy were dominated 3-0 with goals from Hakan Calhanoglu, Nicolò Barella and Marcus Thuram.
Although the Nerazzurri were largely dominant, there were quite a few moments for Napoli too, such as Matteo Politano thumping the crossbar.
The hosts thought Lautaro Martinez fouled Stanislav Lobotka in the build-up to the Calhanoglu goal, while penalty appeals were waved away for a Francesco Acerbi clip on Victor Osimhen’s heel.
“Mazzarri preferred not to come here, because we want him to be on the bench and therefore wanted to avoid him making certain comments that could get him into trouble.
“We are very unhappy and feel that we and our fans do not deserve this kind of treatment. It feels like the referee and VAR had an off day, which of course can happen to anyone.
“The first goal knocked the wind out of our sails and it had a foul in the build-up on Lobotka that was obvious. It warranted an immediate intervention from the referee, even without help from VAR, as it was so obvious.”
The Lautaro Martinez challenge, with an arm wrapped around Lobotka’s torso, was a long way before the goal and sparked the Inter attack.
Refereeing expert Luca Marelli evaluated this and said VAR could not intervene because the referee had a full view of the situation and waved play on.
“The second incident that honestly saw us penalised was the penalty on Osimhen,” continued Meluso.
“I was a player too, when they clip your Achilles tendon, you lose your balance and you go down. It is evidently a foul that should’ve been sanctioned with a penalty.”
On this situation, refereeing expert Marelli insisted the touch was far too light to warrant a penalty and again referee Davide Massa was in an ideal position to evaluate.
“We are not conspiracy theorists, we do not feel there is any ulterior motive behind this other than an off day. However, we need to point it out because losing this heavily in front of our fans is disappointing.
“It’s not an alibi, but conceding that goal in that way really influenced us for the rest of the match. I was honestly disconcerted by the fact these decisions were not overturned, because we’ve seen a lot of penalties given like that.”
The result also means that Napoli are caught by Roma in fourth place, while Fiorentina are only one behind them.
“We lost against a great team like Inter, we were pleased with the overall performance, as Napoli gave their all. This is also why we are so angry, as we did not deserve this treatment. As I said, we are not looking for excuses, but unfortunately when you play against big clubs like Inter, a disparity of treatment like this is going to be decisive.”