Inter issue media blackout after controversy in Atalanta draw

Inter refused to speak to the media after their 1-1 draw with Atalanta in protest against late refereeing decisions.

The Serie A leaders went ahead after 13 minutes through Francesco Pio Esposito and Atalanta equalised in controversial circumstances in the 82nd minute.

Denzel Dumfries felt he was fouled by Kamaldeen Sulemana before the Atalanta winger’s shot was parried for Nikola Krstovic to turn home.

Referee Gianluca Manganiello appeared to put his whistle to his mouth when the challenge was made, but never blew it and the goal stood when there was no VAR intervention.

Inter boss Cristian Chivu was sent off and the hosts were enraged further when Mangianello decided not to award a penalty when Davide Frattesi went down under a challenge from Giorgio Scalvini.

Host broadcasters DAZN confirmed that no one from Inter would speak to the media after the result.

3 – Inter have failed to win three games in a row in all competitions (D2 L1) for the first time since April 2025 (five – D2 L3). Period. #InterAtalanta

— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) March 14, 2026

Atalanta boss Raffaele Palladino refused to be drawn on the controversial decisions, instead focusing on praising his side for their response after a 6-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek.

“I never talk about referees,” Palladino told DAZN, before adding: “This is a great squad. I’ve been asking so much of then for the last four months, and I want to publicly thank them for all their efforts.

“They battled with such courage. It’s not easy to play every three days, but they put in a strong performance today.

“We improved over the course of the match – we had wanted to sit a little deeper and use the transitions in the first half, but didn’t do it well enough.”

Inter’s lead at the Serie A summit will be reduced to five points if AC Milan beat Lazio on Sunday.