Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis responded to Giuseppe Marotta, who had thrown shade toward Antonio Conte following his tirade about the VAR. The Inter president implied that the boss had an agenda talking to Sky on Monday.
“He’s an intelligent person and a great communicator. He has an objective when he talks. The referee was close to the action. There surely was contact, so it was a penalty. The debate about the VAR protocol is constructive. The numbers of mistakes went down thanks to the technology, but this call was irreproachable.”
De Laurentiis responded to Marotta and backed Conte with an official statement on Napoli’s website.
“His statements were inappropriate. It wasn’t a PK according to the large majority of the pundits. Above all, the coach’s words were correct and mirrored what I thought and always said. VAR is a great resource to avoid errors. It makes no sense to limit when it can intervene. When there’s a blunder, its responsibles must inform the referee. Otherwise, the growth of football is stunted and suspicions are fueled. The officials are already in direct communication. Why shouldn’t those watching the game give their indications?”
“Conte has voiced sacrosanct concepts that I’ve been repeating for years. It’s necessary to avoid doubts in order not to inflame the championship. The referee must be devoid of any psychological conditioning, which is instead present between him and the VAR operator. I think that the need to revise the protocol is blatant to do away with uneven decisions. It’s well-known that those on the pitch don’t like to be corrected because they believe it takes away their autonomy and credibility, but it must happen for the good of football.”
Follow us on Google News for more updates on Serie A and Italian football |