Genoa Fury Over De Bruyne Goal: VAR Controversy Against Napoli
The Serie A season is one round old and the controversy has already arrived.
Genoa’s 2-0 home defeat to Napoli at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris on Saturday night left more anger than analysis, with director of football Diego Lopez raging over the decision to allow Kevin De Bruyne’s opener to stand.
“All of Italy saw what happened today,” Lopez snapped in the post-match interviews with Sky Sport Italia and DAZN Italia. He repeated the line more than once. It sounded less like a complaint and more like an accusation.
Flashpoint at 0-0
The game was goalless when the incident that will dominate the weekend’s talk shows unfolded.
A loose ball dropped in the Genoa penalty area. Johan Vasquez stepped across to shield it, positioning his body between De Bruyne and the ball. As he did, he went down under a nudge from behind. De Bruyne did not hesitate. The Belgian collected and drilled in from close range, unchallenged from around seven yards.
Referee Marco Di Bello had a clear view. He even raised the whistle to his lips. Then, as De Bruyne lined up the finish, he pulled it away and let play continue. Goal given.
The VAR check followed, but there was no call for an On-Field Review. The contact on Vasquez was not judged to be a “clear and obvious” error. The decision stayed with Di Bello.
For Genoa, that was the breaking point.
“Fortunately, there are cameras, so all of Italy saw that there was a clear push on Vasquez to create the opportunity for Napoli to score,” Lopez said. “The referee saw it and decided not to blow his whistle, then the referee decided not to view it again.”
Old wounds reopened
The name Marco Di Bello already carried weight in Genoa’s dressing room. Lopez made sure to remind everyone why.
“This referee was also in the VAR booth last season in the game against Napoli, so naturally when we heard he had been assigned to this match, we were worried,” he admitted.
Last season’s meeting, he recalled, was 2-2 heading into stoppage time when Napoli were awarded a late penalty. Di Bello was involved on VAR that day. He was also part of the officiating team for Roma-Genoa, when a goal was allowed to stand despite Genoa’s goalkeeper being struck in the face.
“Both times, the referees later acknowledged these were errors in Open VAR,” Lopez pointed out.
Open VAR, the DAZN programme where refereeing chiefs review and explain the weekend’s biggest decisions, has become a kind of public confessional for officials. Genoa have featured in it more than they would like.
So when Di Bello walked out at Marassi for another Genoa-Napoli clash, the tension was already there.
“We tried to calm the players, because they knew Genoa had already suffered two recognised errors at the hands of this referee,” Lopez said. “We know that officials are human and can make mistakes, but all of Italy saw what happened today.”
Napoli punish the chaos
Once the deadlock broke, Napoli smelled blood.
Genoa, still seething, lost their shape and their focus. De Bruyne, now dictating the tempo, turned provider. He slipped in Antonio Vergara, who finished to make it 2-0 and kill the contest.
From that moment, Napoli managed the game with the composure of a side used to riding out storms. Genoa chased, protested, appealed. The scoreboard did not move.
The images from the night told the story: De Bruyne celebrating with teammates in front of a furious home crowd; Leo Ostigard battling under pressure from Rasmus Hojlund as Genoa tried to respond; Lopez pacing the touchline, already thinking about the microphones waiting for him.
VAR line already under fire
Serie A’s referees had made a point before the season began: VAR would only intervene for clear and obvious errors. No re-refereeing, no grey-area decisions dragged back.
On opening weekend, that philosophy was already under the spotlight.
The De Bruyne-Vasquez clash split the television studios. Some analysts argued the Belgian had clearly fouled the defender. Others insisted Vasquez had tried to buy the foul, stepping across and inviting contact rather than attempting to play the ball.
The officials sided with the latter view. Di Bello made the call on the pitch, VAR stayed out of it, and the threshold for intervention remained high.
For Genoa, that line feels impossibly thin. For Napoli, it was the platform for a clinical away win. For the rest of Italy, it raises an immediate question: if this isn’t “clear and obvious,” what on earth is?
