Referee La Penna reports death threats after Inter 3-2 Juventus mistake
Referee Federico La Penna has reported to the police and public prosecutor’s office after receiving multiple death threats in the aftermath of the Derby d’Italia between Inter and Juventus in Serie A over the weekend.
What happened between Inter and Juventus in the Derby d’Italia?
La Penna was the man in the middle for the fiery derby between Inter and Juventus in San Siro on Saturday evening. The game ended 3-2 in favour of the hosts, but the Bianconeri were left furious after Pierre Kalulu was wrongly sent off in the 42nd minute.
The Juventus defender was shown a yellow card in the 32nd minute for a foul on Nicolo Barella, which some deemed to have been harsh in the first place, and was then given his marching orders 10 minutes later for a supposed foul on Alessandro Bastoni. Replays confirmed that the Inter defender had dived in an attempt to get his opponent sent off.
As this was a second yellow card decision and not a straight red, VAR was not able to review the incident. For similar reasons, the sporting authorities will not be able to take retrospective action.
To add insult to injury for Juventus, Bastoni was also carrying a booking at the time of the incident and would have been sent off himself had the referee decided to book him for simulation.
Refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi later admitted that a mistake was made during the Derby d’Italia and said that La Penna was ‘distraught’ with his error.
Now, according to reports from Corriere dello Sport, La Penna has had to report to the police and the public prosecutor’s office after receiving multiple death threats online in the days following the Derby d’Italia. La Penna has reportedly received personal threats and threats to his family as well.
An investigation was immediately opened, the results of which are pending.
La Penna is not expected to be involved in any Serie A matches this coming weekend, but Tuesday’s report suggests that he could be back for the following round of fixtures, either as a fourth official or as a VAR.