Juventus will be without defender Mattia De Sciglio for the weekend’s trip to Cagliari as he earned a one-game suspension for criticising referee Massimiliano Irrati in the tunnel after the Derby d’Italia.
The Bianconeri saw many big decisions go against them in Sunday’s defeat to Inter Milan which all but ended their hopes of a late Scudetto charge despite Milan’s draw with Bologna on Monday night. Many Juventus supporters believed Lautaro Martinez should’ve seen red in the first half, and felt that Inter’s penalty decision was incredibly soft. Let’s not even get into the chaotic sequence that followed.
Some will also argue that the home side should’ve had a penalty of their own in the second period when Alessandro Bastoni fouled Denis Zakaria. Irrati’s decision to award a free kick was upheld by VAR despite still images appearing to show that the foul had occurred inside the box.
Mattia De Sciglio has been suspended for criticising referee Massimiliano Irrati
Massimiliano Allegri was uncharacteristically livid throughout Sunday’s game, especially during Inter’s penalty sequence, and his frustrations with referee Irrati most certainly rubbed off onto his players.
Adrien Rabiot, who played superbly, captioned his post-match Instagram post: “Great game, good everyone! Too bad the result, but it is difficult to play 11 against 12!”. De Sciglio, meanwhile, supposedly got in the ear of Irrati after the game and his reported ‘disrespectful comments’ aimed toward the referee have seen him earn a one-game suspension and a €5,000 fine.
The Italian came on as a late second-half substitute on Sunday as Allegri opted to start the returning Alex Sandro at left-back with Luca Pellegrini suspended. With De Sciglio out this weekend for the trip to Cagliari, the Juve boss will choose between Alex Sandro and Pellegrini, who impressed at times last month, for the starting left-back berth.
Juve will also be without forward Alvaro Morata as he picked up his fifth yellow card of the Serie A season. The Spaniard, like De Sciglio, will serve a one-game suspension.
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