At the moment of Napoli's maximum effort to restore balance to the match against Como, Stanislav Lobotka's goal came, who found the equalizer after a beautiful action with passes and a flying shot, but referee Luca Pairetto canceled the Napoli midfielder's goal, amidst the astonishment of those in the Maradona Stadium and those watching the match on television.
Initially it was thought that Lorenzo Lucca had been fouled on Chalobah, but in fact the Napoli striker had started from an offside position: the Diego Maradona stadium call was overturned and Como won, inflicting Napoli's first defeat.
Lobotka's goal disallowed for Lucca's offside position
Como triumphs 2-1 in Maradona against Napoli in today's match, Sunday 30 August, but the challenge also leaves behind controversy for some refereeing decisions. The Neapolitans asked for a penalty in the first half for a suspicious contact between Couto and Langu, while at the end there was the strongest protest for the canceled goal of Lobotka. But what happened in that action?
The decisive episode occurred when the clock was ticking down to the fourth minute of added time. Napoli, in search of an equalizer, increased the pressure and tried to take advantage of the balls that were constantly sent into the Como area. In one of these crosses, the Lombard defense failed to clear the ball and the ball ended up at the feet of Lobotka. The Slovakian midfielder didn't think twice and shot a volley with his right foot, sending the ball behind Butez's back. Maradona burst into celebration, but the joy was short-lived: referee Pairetto intervened and stopped the action for an offside position.
The signal came immediately, with the referee indicating Lucca's foul. The Napoli striker protested, thinking that he had not participated in the action in an irregular manner, but the VAR check confirmed the decision made on the pitch. The footage actually shows Lucca beyond the line of the Como last defender at the moment of the action. The offside position was confirmed and Lobotka's goal could not be considered valid, leaving Napoli without an equalizer at the end of the match.
