The sporting director of Napoli, Giovanni Manna, did not hold back in his criticism of the refereeing team led by Chiffi following the defeat against Atalanta in Bergamo. The controversy revolved around a disallowed goal by Miguel Gutiérrez that would have put the Neapolitan team ahead 2-0, in a match that ultimately saw a turnaround in favor of the home team. With coach Antonio Conte remaining silent, it was Manna who addressed the press to express the club's outrage, directly targeting the decision to disallow the goal due to an alleged foul by Hojlund. The referee's decision, which was not overturned by VAR, left Napoli officials perplexed. Manna stated that the incident 'is not even worth commenting on,' questioning the logic behind the referee's decision. 'There is no contact or foul on the goal. I don't understand how he blew the whistle. Then, there was no verification, we continued to play. He disallowed an embarrassing goal. Where is the foul? Where? What is VAR for? This is not football, I have no other words. A reflection is needed; every Sunday, there is a team complaining,' lamented Manna. Manna emphasized the importance of the moment in the game, asserting that scoring 2-0 in Bergamo would have changed the course of events. The sporting director also recalled other unfavorable incidents throughout the season. 'In Turin, a penalty was not awarded in our favor; in Verona, we had bad luck. In the penalty incident, they called him to check, why didn't they do it afterward?' he questioned. The official's frustration was evident as he analyzed the play in detail. 'Chiffi saw something that doesn't exist. Only he saw it. There was nothing, no verification. Hojlund did nothing; Hien grabbed and fell. From the stands, I thought the ball had gone out because there was nothing,' he explained, concluding with a lament: 'You reach a game of this importance and disallow a goal like this. It's a paradox; we are tired. If there is no contact, there is none. Otherwise, we look like fools.'
Napoli Giovanni Manna remains central to this story.
Napoli Giovanni Manna remains central to this story.
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