'I get angry at illogical mistakes' - Referee chief defends decision to suspend two officials after controversial penalty calls in Napoli win against Inter

The Serie A clash between Napoli and Inter turned into one of Serie A’s most contentious nights of the season so far. A dubious first-half penalty awarded to Napoli after Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s light contact on Giovanni Di Lorenzo shifted the game’s momentum. Initially unsure, referee Mariani was urged by assistant Bindoni to award the spot-kick eight seconds after the incident. VAR operator Valerio Marini upheld the call despite minimal contact, and Kevin De Bruyne converted to give Napoli the lead. Inter’s furious protests grew louder after the officials later ignored a handball by Alessandro Buongiorno. The match ended 3-1 to Napoli, but the focus afterwards was firmly on officiating errors rather than the football.

The two referee's were suspended by the Italian refereeing chief Rocchi as he backed his decision claiming that the poor choices made by the on-field officials were illogical and needs to be punished to keep it in check with the broader aspect of the game.

The fallout was swift and public. Serie A’s referee designator Gianluca Rocchi, visibly angered, confirmed the suspension of Mariani, Bindoni, and VAR official Marini.

"There are mistakes and mistakes. We don't intend to suspend anyone, but I get angry when mistakes are illogical because they go against what we agreed upon. If you overdo it, if you let your self-esteem get the better of you, it's not good. We have to focus on the good of the clubs, on the result, and not on ourselves. In those cases, I get angry and suspend someone," Rocchi said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.

The Italian referee was further irked by the decision of the two on-field referees but among the two he believes the assistant referee's adamant stance on it being a clear penalty is something Rocchi can't entertain.

"This episode is very peculiar and involves a procedural issue. The referee may not have seen it, of course, but I must say that we wanted to introduce the assistants to a process so that they can become little referees. What I didn't like at all was the assistant's interference, but they have to intervene in very clear matters in their area of responsibility, and that's not the case here. It's not a penalty; we would have expected an on-field review.

"The fact that there was contact has nothing to do with it; the 'we must not intervene' is not something we want to hear. In this case, I assign a lot of responsibility to the assistant, then to the match director, and then also to the VAR: I've put them on a scale. We have to be very interventionist on penalties that are of a high standard, and this one is below the threshold. I repeat, the procedure is not normal: if this penalty was seen by Mariani, we would have accepted it more, that's it."

The blunders cost the officiating trio their Serie A duties. Reports described Rocchi as “furious” over “too serious errors” that influenced the match’s outcome. Bindoni was immediately stood down, facing possible demotion to Serie B, while Marini was moved off top-flight VAR duties.

Rocchi’s criticism didn’t stop with the match between the Scudetto candidates. He dissected a string of contentious calls across Serie A, each revealing a different flaw in refereeing judgment. In Lazio's clash against Juventus, he confirmed Mario Gila’s foul on Francisco Conceicao was a clear penalty but reminded officials that not all contacts are punishable - “if a player lands on another’s foot in a natural motion, it’s dynamic, not a foul.”

Rocchi was further questioned about Rafael Leao's controversial opening goal for AC Milan in the 2-2 draw against Pisa last week. The controversy around the goal mainly relates to offside and refereeing interpretations that were scrutinised after the game. In response to which, the Serie A referee designator said: "It's a borderline decision, but from now on we'll focus on offside: the closer you are, the more impact it has on the goalkeeper: in this case, he's straddling the six-yard box and has an impact. [Zachary] Athekame 's goal, on the other hand, is more correct. In short, distance makes the difference; in this case, [Malick] Fofana is further away inside the box. In short, the closer the offside player gets to the goalkeeper, the more punishable he will be."  

Mariani, who made the first-half error in the Napoli vs Inter clash, was suspended from officiating midweek fixtures but could return as early as the following weekend. Bindoni received a longer suspension, expected to keep him out until the end of November due to his significant role in pushing the incorrect decision. This disciplinary action serves as a strong message emphasising accountability and the need for referees to avoid illogical mistakes that contradict agreed protocols.