Referees confess huge Genoa 2-3 Napoli mistake: ‘Absolutely not a foul’

GENOA, ITALY – FEBRUARY 7: Rasmus Hojlund of Napoli (left) scores a goal on a penalty kick during the Serie A match between Genoa CFC and SSC Napoli at Stadio Luigi Ferraris on February 7, 2026 in Genoa, Italy. (Photo by Simone Arveda/Getty Images)

Napoli’s controversial winning penalty against Genoa was ‘absolutely in no way a foul,’ confessed Dino Tommasi, representing the Italian Referees’ Association (AIA).

The incident caused a huge amount of controversy, especially as it was so decisive, happening deep into stoppages in what turned out to be a 3-2 victory for the Partenopei.

VAR spotted Maxwel Cornet’s foot on that of Antonio Vergara, which was considered the classic ‘step on foot’ that referees automatically give a penalty for, even when contact itself is fairly minimal.

The footage was analysed on the DAZN Italia show Open VAR with representative of the AIA, former referee Tommasi, who confessed it was a catalogue of errors.

Genoa denied a point by controversial Napoli penalty

“VAR Di Bello and AVAR Fabbri are drawn to the contact between Cornet and Vergara,” explained Tommasi.

“In truth, he is simply taking up a position, the movement from Cornet is entirely accidental and in absolutely no way is it a foul.

“The issue of ‘step on foot’ was created to punish recklessness, but here it is not that. He touches the top of the foot, but the dynamics of the movement are normal within football.

“There is no recklessness, and no need to punish it. The first camera angle might make it seem like a foul, but there’s very little in real football terms.

“It is an accidental ‘graze’ and fouls need to be clear, not like this.”

So was it the correct decision to get the referee to review it himself with the On-Field Review?

“With hindsight, it was not the right choice to call him. The On-Field Review is for a clear and obvious error, whereas this was a normal movement in the dynamics of the game, so the call was incorrect.”

Even when the referee had been called to evaluate it, he still could’ve stuck with his original decision not to award a penalty to Napoli.

“There are situations where the referee has correctly rejected the indications of the VAR. The referee must analyse what he sees, he is the ultimate decision-maker,” confirmed Tommasi.

VAR had already intervened in the opening minute when the referee did not spot a clear Alex Meret foul on Vitinha for a Genoa penalty.

“In this situation there are no doubts, the Meret foul on Vitinha is clear.”

Cornet colpisce il piede di Vergara 🕵️‍♂️ Rigore per il Napoli! ⚠️
L’episodio di #GenoaNapoli visto al microscopio 🔬

L’audio del VAR e la spiegazione dell’episodio ad #OpenVAR, ora su #DAZN 📲 pic.twitter.com/qWy1rnPpI6

— DAZN Italia (@DAZN_IT) February 10, 2026