Death threats, suspension, arguments... the vicious aftermath of Derbi d‘Italia

Unlike some recent Inter - Juventus derbies, where we saw some terrible football and goalless draws, this last one was exciting to say at least, with five goals, chances, Inter‘s win and a huge controversy regarding referee‘s mistake and VAR usage.

The aftermath - death threats, closed social media accounts, suspension, accusations between clubs, refereeing complaints…..

Federico La Penna fell into the ‘trap‘ set by Inter’s defender Alessandro Bastoni, who took advantage of the speed of the move, Kalulu’s slight delay, and a light touch of the Juventus defender’s hand to simulate a non-existent foul. Bastoni’s deception was perfect, also because, Kalulu got the second yellow card, and not a direct red, meaning, VAR couldn‘t intervene.

Saturday’s incident will only accelerate the already announced changes to the VAR protocol, which include expanding the use of technology to cover second yellow cards that result in a dismissal Juventus owner John Elkann had an urgent phone conversation with the president of the Italian Football Federation, Gabriele Gravina, in which he strongly protested the refereeing in the derby, as well as other refereeing mistakes to Juventus’ detriment. According to the Bianconeri’s claims, La Penna harmed Juventus in five different situations, ruling in Inter’s favor in every 50–50 decision - starting with the alleged penalty on McKennie and the sending-off of Kalulu.

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As reported by Italian media, referee La Penna risks a lengthy layoff, although some are even leaving open the possibility of him returning to refereeing a match immediately as an emergency maneuver to get over the shock. According to rumors coming from sources close to the AIA, La Penna is expected to be suspended for a month due to his mistakes. It even due him good, since is now under huge pressure and receiving death treats.

Corriere dello Sport reports that La Penna filed a complaint with the Postal Police for threats, some of which were directed at his wife and two young daughters. These threats were harsh and shameful ("I'll shoot you," "I'll kill you," "We'll come looking for you, we know where you live"). Something similar happened to Bastoni, who faced a ton of social media abuse and was forced, along with his wife, to close all his social media accounts after abuses and threats like: "Buffoon," "You must die," "Clown“, "What a terrible person you are, a husband, a cheater and an unsportsmanlike person. What can you teach your daughter?".

Many former players and coaches also criticized Bastoni, including the famous Fabio Capello.

“A player like Bastoni, of international calibre and a key figure in our national team, cannot and, above all, must not behave like that. It was very upsetting for all the football fans to see him deceive the referee with an obvious simulation, especially since he was already booked and therefore risking a second yellow card” said the former Juventus and Real Madrid boss.

Inter president Beppe Marota also decided to talk after so much complaints and defended his player.

“We're faced with a young player's mistake, but who hasn't made one? If we're talking about simulations, we've been talking about them for fifty years. It's a routine occurrence, not extraordinary, certainly deplorable, and linked to concomitant factors such as Kalulu's arm and the immediate whistle. He made a mistake, I admit it, but last season, we lost the Scudetto by one point, and there was a confirmed error in Inter-Roma, but we didn’t protest. This season, Inter have only intervened once, after Napoli-Inter, where a penalty kick, later deemed unfair, had been given. If we talk about simulations, I want to remember Juventus-Inter in 2021 and a penalty given despite a clear simulation from Cuadrado with Calvarese as a referee. Afterwards, both the referee and the technical bodies confirmed it had been an obvious simulation, and with that win, Juventus qualified for the Champions League, which is worth €60-70m” he said.

SERIE A - MATCHDAY 25

Friday

Pisa - Milan 1-2 (0-1)

/Loyola 71 - Loftus-Cheek 39, Modric 85/

Saturday

Como - Fiorentina 1-2 (0-1)

/Parisi 77 og - Fagioli 26, Kean 54 pen/

Lazio - Atalanta 0-2 (0-1)

/Ederson 41 pen, Zalewski 60/

Inter - Juventus 3-2 (1-1)

/Cambiaso 17 og, Esposito 76, Zielinski 90 - Cambiaso 26, Locatelli 83/

Sunday

Udinese - Sassuolo 1-2 (1-0)

/Solet 10 - Lauriente 56, Pinamonti 58/

Cremonese - Genoa 0-0

Parma - Verona 2-1 (1-1)

/Bernabe 4, Pellegrino 90+3 - Harroui 43 pen/

Torino - Bologna 1-2 (0-0)

/Vlasic 62 - Vlasic 49 og, Castro 70/

Napoli - Roma 2-2 (1-1)

/Spinazzola 40, Santos 82 - Malen 7,71/

Monday

22.45: (2.20) Cagliari (3.15) Lecce (3.60)

***odds are subject to change***