"They had a dream": president of reigning Italian champion Napoli said Ukrainian team was robbed

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis called the decision of referee Jesus Gil Manzano not to award a penalty kick to the Italian national team in the match against Ukraine in the Euro 2024 qualifier a mistake. The official noted that the Blue and Yellows were literally robbed in the match on November 20.

De Laurentiis said this in an interview with La Gazetta Dello Sport. The head of the reigning Italian champion noted that his compatriots deserved the right to play at the 2024 European Championships in Germany, but the Ukrainians were obliged to get the right to an 11-meter penalty kick in stoppage time.

"I would not like to see a match in which Italy was robbed, the way it happened with Ukraine, which did not get the right to a penalty. To tell you the truth, we played well, although I rarely watch national team games, and we deserved to go to the Euros, but the Ukrainians were motivated by the war, they had a dream that they could not realize. But if it were that simple, the dream would not remain a dream," the official said.

As a reminder, referee Jesus Gil Manzano did not award a penalty to the Italians for a foul, after which Mykhailo Mudryk fell. Even the Azzurri's captain, Gianluigi Donnarumma, admitted that the defender had violated the rules. Social media reacted strongly to the episode, and even the Italian media did not defend the referee.

As OBOZ.UA previously reported, the European Football Union (UEFA) has banned Ukrainian fans from showing a banner reminding people of Russian aggression at the match with Italy.

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