Cape Town - Napoli were left outraged at the "incompetent" refereeing
that renders Juventus "unbeatable" as the Bianconeri remain top of Serie
A thanks to their 3-1 win in Naples, reports Football411.
Juve have not lost in the league since October, and their only defeat since then came against the Neapolitan side in the Italian Super Cup, when they lost on penalties. The two clubs met again in the Serie A on Sunday, when fortune favoured the team from Turin.
Paul Pogba volleyed Juve ahead after half an hour before Miguel Britos equalised, but the scores were level for only a brief few minutes before controversy struck. Martin Caceres scored a header, which was allowed to stand despite the Uruguayan seeming fractionally offside, as was Giorgio Chiellini.
The decision to allow what turned out to be the winning goal left Napoli furious, and revived the perception that Juventus are favoured by officials, making their already strong team all but invincible.
"We are tired of this," Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis posted on Twitter. "Juve are a strong team, so if they are helped by referees as well then they become unbeatable.
"These six officials have to be frozen out for a long time. It is unacceptable that with six officials they cannot see two players who are offside. Either it’s incompetence or not in good faith."
Manager Rafa Benitez made similar comments, apologising to second-placed Roma (who are three points behind the leaders) after his realisation that the Old Lady are destined to once again claim the Scudetto.
"Juventus are a very strong side, but it’s not hard to see Chiellini’s white shirt and especially that bandage on his head with Caceres behind him," Benitez said, in reference to the controversial goal.
"It’s always like that against Juventus. We were in the game on 1-1, but the offside goal changed everything and we had to chase again.
"We give credit to Juventus because they have quality and hard work, which is why they’ve been winning for three years and will win again. Our rage comes from the fact we couldn’t play on level terms due to these errors."
Juve have not lost in the league since October, and their only defeat since then came against the Neapolitan side in the Italian Super Cup, when they lost on penalties. The two clubs met again in the Serie A on Sunday, when fortune favoured the team from Turin.
Paul Pogba volleyed Juve ahead after half an hour before Miguel Britos equalised, but the scores were level for only a brief few minutes before controversy struck. Martin Caceres scored a header, which was allowed to stand despite the Uruguayan seeming fractionally offside, as was Giorgio Chiellini.
The decision to allow what turned out to be the winning goal left Napoli furious, and revived the perception that Juventus are favoured by officials, making their already strong team all but invincible.
"We are tired of this," Napoli chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis posted on Twitter. "Juve are a strong team, so if they are helped by referees as well then they become unbeatable.
"These six officials have to be frozen out for a long time. It is unacceptable that with six officials they cannot see two players who are offside. Either it’s incompetence or not in good faith."
Manager Rafa Benitez made similar comments, apologising to second-placed Roma (who are three points behind the leaders) after his realisation that the Old Lady are destined to once again claim the Scudetto.
"Juventus are a very strong side, but it’s not hard to see Chiellini’s white shirt and especially that bandage on his head with Caceres behind him," Benitez said, in reference to the controversial goal.
"It’s always like that against Juventus. We were in the game on 1-1, but the offside goal changed everything and we had to chase again.
"We give credit to Juventus because they have quality and hard work, which is why they’ve been winning for three years and will win again. Our rage comes from the fact we couldn’t play on level terms due to these errors."