Genoa Fury Over De Bruyne's Goal and VAR Controversy
The new Serie A season is one matchday old and the refereeing rows have already arrived.
At Marassi, Genoa’s 2-0 defeat to Napoli boiled over into open anger, with director Diego Lopez insisting “all of Italy” watched a decisive mistake on Kevin De Bruyne’s opener.
The flashpoint
The game sat on a knife edge at 0-0 when the controversy erupted.
A loose ball dropped in the Genoa box. Johan Vasquez stepped across De Bruyne, using his body to shield it and waiting for contact or a whistle. The contact came. The whistle did not.
A nudge from behind sent the defender to the turf, clearing a path for De Bruyne, who stayed alert, pounced on the opening and drilled home from close range. Seven yards out, unchallenged, he made no mistake.
Referee Marco Di Bello had a perfect angle. He even raised the whistle to his lips, then pulled it away as the move unfolded and the ball hit the net.
VAR checked it. No recommendation for an On-Field Review. The push on Vasquez, in the officials’ eyes, did not reach the threshold of a “clear and obvious” error.
Minutes later, the punishment doubled. De Bruyne turned provider, slipping in Antonio Vergara to make it 2-0 and kill off any lingering Genoa resistance.
Lopez: “We were worried as soon as we saw his name”
After the final whistle, Genoa’s hierarchy did not hide behind diplomacy.
“All of Italy saw what happened today,” Chief of Football Diego Lopez told Sky Sport Italia and DAZN Italia. “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.”
Lopez then rewound the tape.
“Last season it was 2-2 until the last minute and Napoli were awarded a penalty. He was also in Roma-Genoa, where our goalkeeper was hit in the face during a goal. Both times, the referees later acknowledged these were errors in Open VAR.”
Open VAR, the DAZN programme that dissects the weekend’s decisions with the referees’ association, had already become a sore reference point for Genoa. Twice, they felt wronged. Twice, they were told the officials had indeed made mistakes.
That history framed everything at Marassi.
“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 continued. “The referee saw it and decided not to blow his whistle, then the referee decided not to view it again.
“We tried to calm the players, because they knew Genoa had already suffered two recognised errors at the hands of this referee. We know that officials are human and can make mistakes, but all of Italy saw what happened today.”
A familiar debate, on day one
The incident ricocheted through television studios across Italy. Slow-motion replays, freeze frames, angles from behind the goal.
Some analysts saw a foul: De Bruyne’s contact on Vasquez as the decisive act that created the chance. Others pointed the finger at the defender, arguing he tried to manufacture the foul, stepping across the ball without any real intention of clearing it and paying the price when he went down.
The refereeing line has been clear in pre-season: VAR should step in only for clear and obvious errors. At Marassi, that standard became the shield.
Di Bello made his call on the pitch. VAR backed it. The goal stood. From there, Napoli controlled the scoreboard, while Genoa’s anger only grew.
On the opening weekend, Serie A already has its first refereeing storm. If this is the tone set on day one, what will the rest of the season look like?
