Referee analyst backs Balerdi goal and Gollini call in Napoli's 3-3 with Roma

Luca Marelli reviewed the key decisions from the draw on DAZN. He found no clear answer on why Allegri was sent off.

by Gennaro SanninoSunday 25 October, 12:05 CET· 3 hours ago

Moviola di Napoli-Roma: per Marelli Gollini e il gol di Balerdi vanno bene, resta il rosso ad Allegri — Grafica Arena Napoli

Napoli's 3-3 draw with Roma left plenty of incidents to replay. On DAZN's post-match show, referee analyst Luca Marelli went through referee Andrea Colombo's decisions and concluded that almost everything was handled correctly. The one exception is the red card shown to coach Allegri, which the television pictures do not explain.

Balerdi's equaliser

Balerdi's goal made it 3-3 in the 89th minute. Beukema fell and lost his marker, so the question was whether there was a push. Marelli said no: "It's a really very light contact and rightly play is allowed to continue. From my point of view there is not enough material to call the referee to an on-field review to disallow the goal." He sees possible contact between the two players' arms, but no obvious push to the Dutchman's chest.

Gollini and Rafa Marín

Roma goalkeeper Gollini beat De Bruyne to the ball outside the area and touched it with his right arm. Marelli said "the touch happens with the hand in front of the chest". In his reading, the ball would have hit the goalkeeper's body anyway. That makes it a non-punishable touch, so there were no grounds for a red card.

Marelli also called Rafa Marín's booking for the challenge on Wesley correct. The centre-back risked trouble with his raised left leg, but did not hit his opponent with it: "If he had touched Wesley's leg with that left leg, he would have risked serious foul play."

Allegri's red card remains unexplained

On Allegri, the picture changes. The coach was sent off from the bench late in the game and said afterwards that it was "for nothing". Marelli would not commit: "We cannot know what happened, we cannot know what he said to the referee or the fourth official." Clarity will have to come from what Colombo puts in his official report. The television analysis alone cannot establish what led to the red card.

Being right about the replays does not change the substance. Napoli led 2-0, then 3-2, and were pegged back in the 89th minute. On Marelli's reading, the refereeing decisions do not explain the draw.

What matters now is the pitch. Napoli, on 11 points, play Monza at the U-Power Stadium on Wednesday 28 October at 20:45 CET (19:45 UK, 14:45 ET). They need three points more than they need another debate about the replays.