Matchday 26 delivered the fall of the giants… and of the referees’ association. Juventus, Milan and Napoli all went down, and once again refereeing controversy took center stage.
It was a staggering Serie A weekend, or close to it. On paper, very few could have predicted that Milan, Napoli and Juventus would all slip up on the same matchday.
At the top, only Inter are smiling, edging closer to wrapping up the Scudetto as early as March, while Roma have drawn level with Napoli in third place and now hold a four-point cushion over fifth-placed Juventus.
All of this comes just one week before Roma–Juventus, a clash that, should the Giallorossi prevail, could mark a point of no return in the race for a Champions League spot.
Inter and Roma, respectively against Lecce and Cremonese, followed similar scripts: territorial dominance throughout, difficulty breaking the deadlock, and decisive goals arriving after the break, both capitalizing on set pieces.
The biggest shock of the round came at San Siro, where Milan sensationally collapsed against Parma. The match unfolded much like the two mentioned above, but the Rossoneri failed to find the breakthrough and, as often happens in such scenarios, ended up conceding and losing on a single decisive episode. Allegri’s side had been unbeaten since Matchday 1 — a surprising defeat to Nicola’s Cremonese — until this stumble.
Juventus, under Spalletti, are now in full-blown crisis, something no one would have foreseen just two weeks ago, not even head coach Luciano Spalletti himself. The Bianconeri had seemed to develop a clear identity and the consistency that had eluded them in recent seasons, yet in less than twenty days they have suffered four defeats — two in Serie A, one in Coppa Italia, and one in the Champions League — shaking their confidence and jeopardizing every seasonal objective.
Coppa Italia hopes vanished with the shocking 0–3 loss in Bergamo, which effectively opened this dreadful stretch.
Their Champions League path is severely compromised — overturning a 2–5 deficit against Galatasaray would require a major feat — and the race for a top-four finish in Serie A has become increasingly complicated.
Juventus have not won in the league since February 1 (a 4–1 away victory at Parma) and have slipped to four points behind Roma.
Sunday night’s showdown at the Olimpico against the Giallorossi already feels like a last stand for Spalletti, who had appeared to be the savior capable of restoring Juventus to former glory but is now enduring a nightmare February.
Closing out the surprises of the round, Napoli, coached by Conte, fell in Bergamo against Atalanta. The Partenopei looked in full control for long stretches but were pegged back by the hosts and ultimately left the pitch empty-handed.
That is the match report, but it does not fully capture the debate surrounding Atalanta–Napoli, which quickly shifted from the pitch to… Lissone.
VAR is once again under scrutiny, along with the AIA, which continues to struggle in calibrating a protocol capable of delivering the objectivity repeatedly demanded by managers, players and executives.
The key incidents in Atalanta–Napoli have been widely discussed since yesterday, adding yet another chapter to a long list of protests against referees and the application of technology in Italian football.
These protests have been extensively covered on our website www.soccermadeinitaly.com and across SMIT’s social channels (Instagram, TikTok and YouTube), where you can find all the protagonists’ reactions and our in-depth analysis.
The feeling is that, perhaps more than ever this season, the AIA is in serious difficulty. The technical standard of officiating is low, and the clarity of the VAR protocol — particularly regarding the “clear and obvious error” threshold — is at rock bottom.
A radical change is needed, and sooner rather than later.
L’articolo The Fall of the Giants… and of the AIA proviene da Soccer Made In Italy.
