Inter vs. Fiorentina controversy called ‘the death of football’ | OneFootball

The fallout from last night’s controversial Inter victory over Fiorentina continues, with pundits saying the Viola ‘should’ve walked off the field’ and another calling it ‘the death of football.’

The incident in question was the opening goal scored from a corner that should not have been awarded, as the ball had already crossed the line by at least 20 centimetres.

This is an area where VAR is not allowed to intervene because of the limitations of the protocol, so while it was undoubtedly an error by the assistant referee, it could not be corrected.

Nonetheless, it has caused a firestorm, especially on the back of other controversial incidents throughout Serie A Week 24 during Empoli-Milan, Como-Juventus and Torino-Genoa.

Referring to the Turkish Super Lig situation where Adana Demirspor walked off in protest at a controversial Galatasaray penalty call last week, journalist Dario Baldini told Calciomercato.it that Fiorentina should’ve followed suit.

“Fiorentina should’ve walked off and left the field, let Inter play against the Inter youth team and take the 3-0 defeat. Either way, they end up empty-handed, but then we avoid the show of Inzaghi in the press conference.

“I think Raffaele Palladino must have a great mental coach to stay calm, because I would’ve been enraged. In 2025, this cannot happen.”

Inter vs. Fiorentina incident dominates media coverage

Inter coach Simone Inzaghi shouts encouragement from the touchline during the Serie A match between FC Internazionale and Fiorentina at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on February 10, 2025 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

As this result closes the gap at the top of the Serie A table to just one point, it also angered Napoli and journalist Carlo Alvino was even stronger in his criticism on Calciomercato.it.

“Inter-Fiorentina marks the death of Italian football. It is not about Napoli and Inter challenging for the Scudetto, but if someone wants to cultivate passion for this sport, then what was seen in Inter-Fiorentina killed it.

“It falsifies a match that indirectly also falsifies an entire title race. Even those who don’t believe in conspiracies will start to have a few suspicions after that.

“I have been following football for too many years not to understand that there are some directors and some clubs who have more weight than others. This is the naked truth.

“What we saw in Milan was one of the ugliest pages of Italian football in recent years.”

Alvino also targeted the media, which he declared was “a dictatorship, as the press representing the regime didn’t join Antonio Conte in his battle to change the protocol, but rather attacked him as a victim.

“How strange, after Inter-Napoli, Inzaghi said he didn’t want to talk about referees. After the derby, he suddenly changed his attitude. It’s the protagonists who harm football too, not just referees and VAR who seem to work only on alternate days.

“We have seen decisions that change depending on what jersey you are wearing. For example, in Como-Juventus, when the VAR said one thing and the AVAR said another.”

This is referring to the debate inside the VAR booth on whether or not Federico Gatti’s fingertips brushing the ball was sufficient for a penalty.

In the DAZN studio, the representative of the referee’s association confirmed they did not consider it to be a handball offence worthy of a spot-kick.