Napoli manager Antonio Conte expressed his frustration in a post-match interview with DAZN following the 1-1 draw against Inter Milan. The main point of contention was the penalty awarded to Inter for a dubious foul by Anguissa on Dumfries.
Conte did not mince words about the VAR decision:
“What does it mean that VAR cannot intervene? Sometimes it can, sometimes it can’t… Either it’s there to correct errors or it’s not. If there’s an error, it must intervene, period. What does this mean? It really makes me angry. Mr. Marelli can say what he wants, but what does it mean that referee Mariani has to decide on the situation himself? We started very well with VAR, now situations are being added that induce ulterior motives. If there’s an error, VAR must call the referee, I shouldn’t have to do it, we don’t need VAR on call.”
Regarding the match itself, Conte commented:
“I said we wouldn’t come here to be sparring partners for the strongest team of all. From this point of view, I’m very satisfied, we’re making improvements. There are values and the boys are showing me they’re on point despite some mistakes.”
Later in the press conference, Conte elaborated on his frustration with the penalty decision:
“The penalty bothered me. VAR can be helpful for honesty, but instead the protocol creates conspiracy theories. If there’s an error, you intervene and correct it, or you call the referee and the referee evaluates. This way, instead, it creates conspiracy theories and bad thoughts, and I don’t want to have bad thoughts.”
