Juventus general manager Beppe Marotta has caused a major stir by suggesting that referee Marco Guida didn’t give a penalty “because he is from Naples.”

The Bianconeri were furious after an Andreas Granqvist clearance was not called a penalty after the ball hit his leg and then his arm.

“I think that what the coach said was eloquent, and I would like to make an even bigger statement about our game,” Marotta told Sky after the game.

“What good is it to have six officials around the pitch if there is no teamwork in making the decisions? The fourth official and the goal line referee saw a penalty but the referee didn’t feel like calling it.”

“You can’t go in with your arms raised and then be given the benefit of the doubt because of your mistake. If you see the penalty given to AC Milan against Isla you will see that it is much less of a penalty than the one today.”

“This is a period in which different episodes have taken place, but the fact remains that the goal line referee was not listened to.”

“I will only say that it is a mistake. The referee Guida is from Naples, so perhaps that is why he felt he was in a difficult position. He is a young official, so it’s normal to be under pressure in certain situations.”

Marotta was then asked to explain his comments on Guida and if his call was made in order to favour Napoli, who sit in second place.

“I am sure he is a good man, I am just discussing the error. If referees are not assigned to clubs from their own region, there must be a reason.”

“Assigning such a young official to this game made it difficult for him. Imagine if a referee from Turin had gone to officiate Napoli.”

Follow Adriano Boin on Twitter: @Boin44