January 28, 2026

SALVATORE PORCELLI (ITA) awarded with EFPM “DIPLOMA OF RECOGNITION” 2025

FAIR PLAY: NO PENALTY GIVEN, COACH TELLS HIS PLAYER TO MISS ON PURPOSE

It happened in Marano, on the outskirts of Naples, during the regional Under-13 final between Blue Devils Napoli and Albanova. With five minutes remaining, Albanova were leading 1–0 when a controversial penalty episode occurred.

A Blue Devils player entered the penalty area and came into contact with the goalkeeper. He stumbled over the ball and, unintentionally, convinced the referee to award a penalty kick that, in reality, did not exist.

At that point, 24-year-old Blue Devils coach Salvatore Porcelli stepped in and spoke directly to his player: “Kick the penalty wide.”

The boy, visibly incredulous, followed his coach’s instruction.

The ball went out. Blue Devils lost the match and were eliminated.

“I thought it was the most normal thing to do,” Porcelli told Il Mattino di Napoli. “It’s right to teach boys that you must always be fair, both on and off the pitch. Davide, my player, didn’t dive or try to be clever. He simply stumbled, and for me it was not a penalty.”

And how did the players react?

“At first it was hard for them to accept seeing their dream of reaching the national finals disappear,” the coach explained. “But then they understood. Our first rule is to have fun and to teach them sportsmanship. If they don’t learn it at this difficult age, they never will.”