'Osimhen's elbow to Buongiorno's face' - Marelli insists yellow card was the right decision

Napoli could only take a point from their Serie A meeting with Torino at the Diego Maradona Stadium on Friday night after Antonio Sanabria, with a sensational overhead kick goal, canceled out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia's opener.

Victor Osimhen could not add to his tally of eleven goals in this season's Serie A in what was his 100th career appearance in the division.

The talking point of the game was the fact that the Nigeria international was not shown a straight red card after a swipe at Alessandro Buongiorno's face during an aerial challenge in the first half.

Referee Daniele Orsato only issued a yellow card to Osimhen and was not advised by the VAR to review the incident on the pitchside monitor, sparking controversy. 

Former referee now pundit Luca Marelli has insisted that the referee's decision to show the Napoli number 9 a yellow instead of red in the 35th minute was correct.

Speaking to DAZN via Tuttomercatoweb, Marelli explained: "Osimhen's elbow to Buongiorno's face is imprudence and not violent conduct.

"Orsato was good at noticing the high elbow, perhaps also thanks to the fourth official. Osimhen doesn't notice Buongiorno and gives him an involuntary elbow, so it's a reckless gesture and the yellow card is right."

Osimhen has already seen red this season, taking the walk of shame in the closing minutes of Napoli's 2-0 loss to AS Roma in the last game he played before joining the Nigeria squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations. 

Ifeanyi Emmanuel 

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