A Serie A referee has received death threats after being at the centre of the controversial clash between Inter Milan and Juventus that became embroiled in red card fury
Serie A official Federico La Penna has been subjected to numerous death threats following a controversial error during Juventus’ 3-2 league loss to Inter Milan at the San Siro. Juve’s French centre-back Pierre Kalulu was dismissed after collecting a second booking for a challenge on Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni.
Yet upon review, it became apparent that the Italian international had gone down theatrically. Supporters argued the decision handed the home side an unjust advantage, influencing the final result.
The match stood at 1-1 in the 41st minute when the incident occurred, following Andrea Cambiaso’s unfortunate own goal that had put the hosts ahead, before the Juventus player atoned for his mistake by levelling matters in the 26th minute.
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Inter regained their lead through Pio Esposito in the 76th minute, though Manuel Locatelli restored parity once more in the 83rd minute, only for Piotr Zielinski to net a stoppage-time winner.
Juve supporters were left incensed by the episode, with La Penna facing a torrent of menacing messages on social media following the final whistle. They declared: “I’ll shoot you;” “I’ll kill you;” and: “We’re coming to get you, we know where you live.”
Several Italian publications, including La Repubblica and SportMediaset, report that police have recommended he stays indoors, whilst the referee has lodged an official complaint regarding the abuse.
Some reports suggest the referee could be handed a month-long ban by the Italian referees’ association (AIA) following Serie A’s head of refereeing, Gianluca Rocchi, branding the red card as “a clearly wrong decision.”
Juventus players demanded VAR intervention over the incident, but match officials cannot review yellow card decisions, and Bastoni, who was already cautioned, ought to have received a second booking for diving.
“La Penna is mortified and we stand by him, but I have to tell you the truth: he wasn’t the only one who made a mistake,” Rocchi stated via the AIA. “Yesterday there was a clear simulation – the latest in a long series in a league where they try in every possible way to deceive us.”
Bastoni also faced online harassment, with both he and his wife disabling comments on their social media profiles after the Italian seemed to celebrate the dismissal.
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Former Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini, now serving as Juventus’s director of football strategy, was equally incensed by the ruling. He declared: “You can’t talk about football today. Something unacceptable happened.”
Juve’s chief executive Damien Comolli allegedly required restraining at the interval after attempting to confront La Penna. The Old Lady’s manager Luciano Spalletti was also spotted having words with the referee as the teams headed down the tunnel.
Nevertheless, the 66-year-old tried to calm the situation and steer Comolli away from the official.
Both Comolli and Chiellini could be hit with disciplinary action after the chief executive also voiced his opinion on the decision. Comolli said: “Juventus lost three points, but Italian football lost much more.”