An exciting 1-1 draw between Inter and Napoli at San Siro didnt change the leadership of the Serie A table as the Azzurri kept the one-point advantage on the competitors. Five teams, including the Nerazzurri, are now tied for points in second place, while Juventus are just one point behind them, and two behind Napoli.
Former Manchester United midfielder Scott McTominay scored the opening goal of the game in the first half before Hakan Calhanoglu managed to score a stunning goal from the outside the box before the break. The Turkish midfielder also had the chance to score a winning penalty but he missed the first one since he joined the Nerazzurri in the summer of 2021. After 19 penalties scored, Calhanoglu missed his first penalty with the side coached by Simone Inzaghi. It was an episode that upset Napoli coach Antonio Conte, as he considers it a wrong decision by both the referee and VAR to award the spot kick.
Conte argued with DAZN referee expert Luca Marelli about the way VAR can or cannot intervene when a referee makes a decision.
“A decision from the referee like this can transform a match and VAR cannot do anything about it? VAR is there to correct errors or it is not. If there is an error, it has to intervene. What does this even mean? It really angers me, but it does to all coaches, it has to intervene if there is a mistake. In logical terms, if there is VAR, it must be used to correct errors or show the referee situations that he did not see,” he said.
“We had started so well with VAR, but now things are getting off track and they are not intervening. Call the referee, he can even confirm the decision if he wants, but he has to see it again. I would say that both for us and if it was for the opposition. I feel more comfortable if the VAR can always intervene to correct the referee, not leaving it to the referee, otherwise trust me that it will start to create bad thoughts. Trust me. This is a wonderful instrument if it is used in a clear, honest fashion.”
