Antonio Conte it’s a fury. After his equalizer Naples against Inter, the Salento coach returned several times to the penalty awarded to the Nerazzurri in the second half, which was then missed by Calhanoglu. Harsh words, which would refer – especially in a press conference – not to the concrete episode, but to the guidelines deriving from the VAR protocol.
Conte, specifically, disputes the current interpretation: the contact between Anguissa and Dumfries exists and is seen by the referee Mariani. For this reason, despite being light, the match director cannot be called to the monitor nor corrected by VAR: he saw it, he evaluated it, the contact is there and that’s it.
One can inevitably agree or disagree with Conte’s words. Simone Inzaghi, for the record, specified that his colleague – who also referred to the category of coaches, all angry – speaks for himself and not for everyone else.
What strikes us, beyond today’s events and declarations, is a significant aspect. At the beginning of the season, referee designer Rocchi organized a meeting between referees and coaches in Lissone – home of the VAR rooms – to explain and discuss the protocol together, including VAR. Conte was absenton holiday in Ischia: with him, six other Serie A colleagues did not participate. Specifically: Gasperini, Italiano, Palladino, Gilardino, Runjaic and Fabregas. Present, however, was Inzaghi himself who, together with Thiago Motta, was among the most active in intervening and discussing with the refereeing class.