If there’s one topic which continually seems to dominate the headlines and social media feeds these days, it’s referees and more importantly, Juventus. The bianconeri have had what can only be described as some fortuitous decisions go their way in recent weeks with Inter, Napoli, and now most recently Milan all leaving the J Stadium with a seething sense of injustice.

 

No-one, regardless of their footballing allegiances, wants to believe that something underhand is going on, and with cries of, “Calciopoli” ringing out on a near daily basis, the worry now is that paranoia and prejudice take the place of common sense.

 

It cannot be denied that the standard of refereeing this season in Serie A has lunged from mediocre to downright despicable in recent months, with Milan being the most recent side to feel justifiably robbed after losing to Juventus via a 96th minute penalty kick; awarded for a 50/50 hand-ball and two minutes over the allotted 4 minutes of added on time. Milan ‘keeper Gigi Donnarumma was seen marching off the field at full time, kissing the Milan crest on his shirt while ranting, “It’s not possible, it’s always them [Juventus].” With each passing week and each match winning/altering (delete as applicable) decision, people are beginning to feel aggrieved.

 

Now, I’m not saying that only Juventus get questionable calls in their favour, that’s certainly not the case and the penalty kick statistics certainly back up that Juventus have received far less than the sides around them in Serie A; Roma, would you believe, lead the penalty kick standings with 11 spot kicks awarded in Serie A this season so far, followed by Milan with 9, Lazio with 7, Napoli and Inter with 4, and Juventus with 3.

 

My own team, Napoli, was the recipient of one particularly soft penalty against Crotone when Marek Hamsik went down somewhat easily to hand Dries Mertens, only on the field 4 minutes having come on for Leonardo Pavoletti, the chance to net his 19th of the season and Napoli’s second of the day. 

 

Still, the cluster of decisions that have seemingly gone in Juventus’ favour have done nothing to quell the rising feeling of injustice amongst supporters outside those who frequent the J Stadium and, like it or not, no penalty kick league table is going to convince them that the handball awarded against De Sciglio was the correct decision or stop the notion that Juventus were, not for the first time in recent weeks, handed a massive get out of jail card.

 

So what’s the answer? The old argument of replacing our referees with foreign equivalents from another league is an absolute non starter and would create further issues the league and Italian game as a whole could well do without. In my opinion, the FIGC need to bring in tighter reviews of their officials and combine this with not just goal-line but video technology, which has already been trialled successfully in the MLS pre-season with New York City’s David Villa being the unfortunate recipient of one of the first sending's off via video evidence; off the ball, Villa elbowed Houston defender AJ De La Garza in the face and after 3 minutes of reviewing the footage, Villa was shown a straight red card.

 

Purists want the game to flow and theirs is this belief that the game would become stop/start due to video refereeing but if limited to the big calls, such as penalty kicks, then I’m sure in the interests of fairness and the good of the game, fans would accept a short delay or two to ensure the correct outcome.

 

 

Inter fans dare to dream, but a Champions League spot may yet be their reward come the end of the season, as Stefano Pioli’s side smashed Atalanta 7-1 at the San Siro on Sunday afternoon to take their tally to 12 goals in their last two games, and 11 wins in their last 13 Serie A outings; only Juventus and Roma managing to get the better of the nerazzurri.

 

Pioli’s side now sit comfortably in 4th place in Serie A, just six points behind Napoli who themselves are focused on chasing down Roma, a further two points ahead in 2nd place. While Napoli no longer have the distraction of Champions League football following their elimination at the hands of Real Madrid, the Partenopei need to travel to the San Siro on April 30th in what will be one of the most important games of the season for both clubs, as they look to secure a spot at  European footballs top table in what would form a vital part of their 2017/18 blueprint.

 

With 20 goals to his name already, including a hat-trick against the hapless Atalanta, Mauro Icardi is having a fantastic season as he sits joint second in the race for the Capocannoniere; only Andrea Belotti has scored more. Icardi however, can boast 8 assists as he shows he’s more than just a goalscorer and is, quite possibly, the most complete forward in Serie A right now. Only Jose Callejon of Napoli has more assists, but given his role in the Napoli side that’s to be expected, with the Spaniard weighing in with just the 8 goals.

 

Given the start to the season and the disastrous, albeit short-lived reign of Frank de Boer, Inter fans have reasons to be optimistic for the future once more. In Gagliardini they have secured one of the best young midfield talents in Serie A as his consistency and maturity have dispelled any complaints about his relatively high price tag. 

 

While everyone focuses on the top 3 it would be madness to ignore the threat of Inter and, given Napoli’s frustrating ability to go from brilliance one week to mediocrity the next, there could yet be one final twist in the race for Champions League football.

 

 

The sight of former Napoli and Juventus striker Fabio Quagliarella breaking down in tears on television was one which no-one expected, as the current Sampdoria front man finally revealed the personal torment which drove him to the brink of despair and out the door of his beloved Napoli.

 

In a tale which would not sound out place in a thriller movie, Quagliarella revealed that he and his family endured horrendous harassment at the hands of a stalker who, in the most bizarre and morbid of twists, was found to be a family friend and worst of all, a former police officer.

 

Upon revealing the reasons for his departure, Quagliarella said, “I have this huge weight off my shoulders and this is the real reason I had to leave Napoli. I was very happy there but I was affected by this situation that turned into a genuine nightmare.”

 

The striker had long been shunned by the Napoli support after he chose to sign for, of all teams, Juventus in a surprise move after just one season at the San Paolo. The Partenopei, understandably, were outraged as one of their own dared to swap the sky blue for black and white, but they could never have comprehended the players reasoning; he was, quite frankly, fleeing for his life. 

 

In the wake of the revelations unveiled by Quagliarella, the Napoli support have rallied round their former player and hometown boy, going as far as to beg forgiveness from the player with a banner also unveiled at the weekend’s game with Crotone; “You showed great dignity despite going through hell. We’ll welcome you back one day Fabio, you’re one of our own.”

 

And while it’s certainly not a scenario which is commonplace in football, it just goes to show you that we, as supporters, never truly know the real story; the only thing missing now is the fairytale ending, one which Aurelio De Laurentiis has the power to write on his own should he chose to bring Quagliarella home for one final swan song with his home town club, giving him back some of the time that was so cruelly taken from him.

 

 

After an entertaining 2-2 draw the last time these sides met, the two men who many believe should spearhead the Italian national team attack clashed as Torino travelled to the Olimpico in the Monday evening fixture to face Lazio; Immobile v Belotti the main attraction in 3-1 win which saw the former score and the latter falter.

 

Simone Inzaghi's men are in a fine vein of form, unbeaten in their last 8 games all competitions and looking favourites for a Coppa Italia final appearance after defeating city rivals Roma in their Semi-Final first leg. 

 

Torino, after their early season promise, have suffered from bouts of inconsistency as they struggle to string two wins together; something they haven't achieved in Serie A since November last year when they defeated Crotone and Chievo. In fact, Torino have only won three Serie A games in total since December 22nd, with six defeats, five draws and just three wins since the aforementioned back to back victories in November.

 

Despite Andrea Belotti leading the race for the Capocannoniere with 22 goals, he alone hasn't been enough to half Torino's slide as their defence, which is undoubtedly their Achilles heel, is continually exploited with 19 goals conceded in Serie A in 2017 alone. At the start of the season many had tipped Torino for a European place as they stayed the course with the top 6, however they currently reside in 10th place, just two places above their final position last season, with 39 points; Torino finished the last campaign on 45 points and on their current form they may well struggle to surpass that. 

 

 

One of the more under-rated derbies on the Italian calendar, the Derby della Lanterna was a visual feast and a reminder to anyone who tuned in just why Italian football remains the best in the world when it comes to choreography from the supporters. 

 

While the Genoa support, the home fans in this fixture, blared out a rousing rendition of the Liverpool anthem You’ll Never Walk Alone, the Sampdoria fans in the ‘away’ end treated us to a borderline firework display amid a sea of banners. As much as we talk about the Italian game needing modernisation, the idea that we could lose these elaborate displays is terrifying; it’s part of what makes Italian football great, and credit to both sets of fans for putting on such a terrific show.

 

Sampdoria won the game 1-0, the winning goal scored by Muriel, a result that saw Sampdoria grab a derby clean sweep over their city rivals for the first time since season 1959/60. Sampdoria currently sit in 9th position in Serie A, with Fiorentina looking a realistic target in terms of league position; the Viola sitting 4 points ahead in 8th place.

 

Sampdoria, on a great run of late, currently sit 4th in the Serie A form guide (going on the last 6 games) which has seen them collect 14 points from a possible 18, thanks to 4 wins and 2 draws. With the rejuvenated Quagliarella and the emerging talent of Patrik Schick, it's not inconceivable that Sampdoria could climb a place or two and end their season on high.


James McGhie (@jrmcghie) is the host and producer of the Calciomercato.com podcast