GOAL analysed refereeing incidents from Juventus v Napoli on Sunday in Serie A's 10th round. GOAL said it was the match that rounds off Sunday's action, with Luciano Spalletti and Massimiliano Allegri at the centre of the storylines, and that both sides started nine points behind Como and needing three points in the race for a Champions League place.
Red card and early booking
Marianucci was shown a second yellow card and sent off after going in late and stepping on Cabal's foot. Douglas Luiz was shown the match's first yellow card for a challenge on Rafa Marin.
Two penalty-area incidents
Woltemade went down after contact with Olivera when Koopmeiners crossed into the centre of the box. Luca Marelli said: "I agree with Giaccherini, there’s very little in it. An arm is placed on him, but there’s no holding. Not enough to award a penalty."
Cabal was brought down when Olivera accidentally stepped on the back of his boot while watching the ball rather than Cabal. Sozza let play continue after the Cabal-Olivera incident, and the VAR check confirmed the on-field decision. Marelli said: "It resembles the contact on Da Cunha in Torino-Como, with one difference. The Como midfielder was caught square on the ankle; in this case, Cabal was only clipped, and I agree with VAR's decision not to intervene over contact that was not decisive."
Koopmeiners and Anguissa
Sozza took no action over the incident involving Koopmeiners. Marelli said: "From the image we’ve seen, Koopmeiners should have received a yellow card. The contact is very high on the calf, midway between the calf and the ankle. Let’s see what they say on VAR, although serious foul play is a possibility. The point of contact is very high, but I want to make one crucial point: the right foot slides off the ankle, so it does not meet the threshold for a red card."
Frank Anguissa caught Koopmeiners before the ball as he tried to tackle, and the ball went out of play. GOAL said the replay showed a clear foul in the Anguissa-Koopmeiners incident. Sozza made no decision on the Anguissa-Koopmeiners incident and VAR did not intervene.
Other disputed calls
Lucumì caught Lucca with his knee at neck height in a challenge for which Sozza gave a foul but no second card. Lucumì deserved a yellow card for stopping Lucca on the counter-attack.
Napoli protested to Sozza after McKennie's challenge stopped De Bruyne's break towards Vicario's goal. The referee let play continue and took no action after McKennie's challenge on De Bruyne.
