This archive report was first published on 25 August 2019.
On a thrilling Saturday, Napoli, the runners-up in three of the last four seasons, bounced back from a contentious early penalty to claim a 4-3 victory over new-look Fiorentina in their Serie A opener.
Published on August 25, 2019, the match was marked by controversy, with both teams awarded contentious penalties. Fiorentina's Vincenzo Montella expressed his frustration, stating, 'There really is anger, because a mistake can happen but for me to reason that these are penalties and others aren’t, no. I can’t do it. I’m sorry.'
Napoli's Dries Mertens equalized in the 38th minute with a dipping shot, and later, Mertens fell over Gaetano Castrovilli, who was already on the ground, but the referee pointed to the spot, and Lorenzo Insigne levelled.
Fiorentina's Nikola Milenkovic headed the team back on level terms in the 52nd minute, only for Jose Callejon to put Napoli back in front four minutes later. Substitute Kevin-Prince Boateng equalized for Fiorentina in the 65th minute, but two minutes later, Mertens found Callejon at the far post, and he knocked the ball back for Insigne to head the winner.
Fiorentina's Franck Ribery, making his debut, claimed he should have been awarded a penalty when he went down under a challenge from Elseid Hysaj, but the referee ignored his appeals and VAR did not intervene. Montella questioned the inconsistency in penalty decisions, stating, 'I don’t really understand the rule which provoked the first penalty for us, but the rule is there and, although I don’t agree with it, it was a penalty.'
Montella also expressed his frustration with the VAR system, saying, 'It’s actually easier to accept errors when VAR isn’t being used.'
