Football
9y

Napoli lash out at referee on their Twitter account after Atalanta draw

Napoli accused the referee of their 1-1 Serie A draw with Atalanta on Sunday of "falsifying the league" after making a series of decisions they did not agree with.

Partenopei boss Rafael Benitez was sent to the stands by Gianpaolo Calvarese as his temper boiled over towards the end of the game, with the result compromising his side's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

The defeat saw Napoli slip to fifth in the table behind fourth-placed Sampdoria, while they are now five points off Lazio in third -- the last spot which brings with it qualification for Europe's elite club competition.

"Refereeing like this is not worthy of Serie A and it falsifies the league," read a tweet from Napoli's official Twitter account on Sunday night. "This would never have happened in England."

Another tweet branded what had happened "a disgrace," adding that Italian Football Federation president Carlo Tavecchio "cannot go losing his credibility in this way" and indirectly appealing for him to take some form of action.

The same comments were also published in a statement on Napoli's official website.

La Gazzetta dello Sport's analysis of the game suggests Atalanta's goal should have been ruled out for a foul by Mauricio Pinilla on Henrique -- an incident, it claims, which affected the referee's performance for the remainder of the clash.

Benitez had not calmed down much by the time he met the media after Sunday's game.

"It's impossible for four or five referees all to miss what happened," he said in quotes reported on Napoli's official website. "Probably we need an additional two to be able to see Pinilla's foul on Henrique. I'm sure the referee, the linesman and the fourth official didn't see it or it really would be worrying.

"That incident changed our game completely. It's incredible that the referees didn't see it. For a side who are close to second and third, these kind of things change everything. I've never seen anything like it before in football. I'm not happy about it."

Due to the international break, Napoli now have a fortnight to prepare for their next challenge -- a trip to second-placed Roma. After that game, they host sixth-placed Fiorentina, before travelling to Wolfsburg for a Europa League quarterfinal first leg.

After the return game with Wolfsburg in Naples, Napoli then host Sampdoria, with the next month set to go a long way in determining the destiny of their season.

^ Back to Top ^