The battle between Inter and Napoli has escalated following their recent Serie A clash at San Siro. Napoli’s president Aurelio De Laurentiis has now weighed in on the controversy surrounding the penalty awarded to Inter, supporting Antonio Conte’s criticism of VAR usage.
Speaking from Los Angeles, De Laurentiis said, “I’ve read some statements from Marotta that I consider out of place. The majority of observers agree that it wasn’t a penalty. More importantly, Conte’s words were clear and exactly what I think and have always said: VAR is a great resource to avoid refereeing errors. It makes no sense to say that sometimes it can intervene and sometimes it can’t. If there’s a refereeing error, the VAR officials must call the referee. Otherwise, it hinders football’s growth and fuels suspicions.”
De Laurentiis continued, “Referees are already in direct contact with VAR. Why shouldn’t they receive indications from those who can see what happens on the field with the help of technology? Conte expressed sacred concepts, the same ones I’ve been advocating for years!”
The Napoli president emphasized the need for consistency in VAR application to avoid doubts and suspicions. He called for a new VAR regulation to prevent inconsistent decisions, stating, “It’s clear to everyone that we need to develop new VAR regulations to avoid inconsistent decisions, which, I repeat, would only fuel the theory of doubt.”
De Laurentiis also highlighted the psychological aspect, noting, “It’s known that on-field referees are often not in favor of VAR intervention because corrections to their decisions take away their autonomy and credibility. However, in the face of blatant episodes and obvious errors, VAR must intervene, at least by calling the referee to view what happened on the monitor. This is for the good of football.”
Conte’s original comments after the 1-1 draw with Inter were equally critical: “What does it mean that VAR can’t 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 it mean? It’s something that really pisses me off. 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.”
In response, Inter’s CEO Beppe Marotta defended the penalty decision: “I believe that technology improves the situation: it reduces errors. Conte is an intelligent person and a great communicator, he’ll have his objective when he speaks. The referee was close to the action, and there was certainly contact, and the foot was moved: for me, it was a penalty. If we need to debate on the better use of VAR, it’s part of a constructive discussion that should be done within the football system.”
