Juventus squeezed past Genoa in midweek courtesy of a 96^th-minute penalty converted by Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese appeared to go down in the area under minimal, if any, contact, sparking yet another debate about the point of VAR technology and its implementation.

The victory over Genoa took Juve to the top of the Serie A table, a point ahead of Inter Milan, with Napoli eight points adrift after a 2-2 draw with Atalanta. Marco Insigne, the bother of Napoli forward Lorenzo, was incensed after Carlo Ancelotti’s side were denied three penalty appeals in that game, which also saw the Italian sent to the stands for arguing with the match officials over a foul on Simon Kjaer in the 86^th minute.

VAR "the ruin of Italian football"

“What about VAR? This will be the ruin of Italian football,” Insigne posted on social media, adding images of the incidents he felt should have resulted in a spot-kick for last season’s runners-up.