Muriel-Mariani case, the appeal against the Atalanta striker rejected

The Federal Court of Appeal, presided over by Mario Luigi Torsello, has rejected the appeal presented by the Federal Prosecutor’s Office against the acquittal of Luis Muriel, the Atalanta striker, for the controversial statements against the referee Maurizio Mariani.

the muriel controversy

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On 27 January, the Federal National Court acquitted Muriel, who had been referred for having expressed on Instagram a judgment harmful to the prestige and reputation of the referee Mariani and of the arbitration institution as a whole at the end of the Atalanta-Naples match, played on 5 November 2022 and valid for the 13th day of the Serie A championship. That match had been won by Napoli 2-1 and the final whistle from the referee had sparked protests from the Atalantini because according to the Nerazzurri it had arrived earlier than the recovery allowed. Hence Muriel’s sarcastic comment via social media: “if you have to referee at 6pm, don’t put dinner at 8pm which doesn’t have time to arrive”, wrote the Colombian.