Davide Nicola insists the contentious last-gasp VAR call disallowing a Juventus winner against Salernitana ‘proves this sport has credibility.’
The minnows had been leading 2-0 at half-time in the Allianz Juventus Stadium through Antonio Candreva and a Krzysztof Piatek penalty, but Bremer’s header and the Leonardo Bonucci spot-kick – on the rebound after Luigi Sepe’s save – got it back to 2-2.
In stoppages, Arkadiusz Milik had the ball in the net with a header on a corner, but it was disallowed using a VAR on-field review because Bonucci’s offside position was considered to be interfering with play.
“We are very satisfied with the performance we put in and it would’ve been very disappointing to leave empty-handed after that,” Salernitana coach Nicola told DAZN.
“VAR proves this sport has credibility. From the moment that the player who is offside tries to reach the ball, he is interfering with play.”
If Salernitana had won the match, they would’ve been equal with Juventus on points, confirming their strong start to the Serie A season, losing only 1-0 in the opener to Roma.
“Salernitana came here to play our game, be aggressive and press them high. We must be ambitious, but at the same time conserve the humility needed to keep improving. In Serie A at this moment in time, it is difficult to get a result without taking the initiative. We therefore try to attack from the start.
“I won’t get ahead of myself here, but this is the path we are on to achieve our objective and we must continue like this.”
Boulaye Dia has made a huge impact since his arrival, contributing three goals and two assists, while today Piatek also got his first goal for the club.
“The characteristics of the team allow us to attack the space and create chances. I am happy with the performances of Piatek and also Daniliuc, as it was his first start too.”
Looks like a foolish statement now, but in fairness, Nicola was only answering questions using the knowledge available to him at the time.
Maybe Nicola will be nominated for the fairness award with his comments !!! Credibility will be gained when saying the truth.