The Referees Association is furious! Referee Di Bello probably won’t blow his whistle for a while, damaged Bologna may cost him dearly

Bologna are not having an easy time at the start of the new Serie A season. Firstly, they lost 0:2 to AC Milan at the beginning of the domestic competition, then they drew 1:1 at Juventus, but it can be said that the referee deprived them of full points. Referee Marco Di Bello now faces a possible one-month ban.

Sunday’s clash in the second round of the Italian top flight between Juventus and Bologna is very likely to have an aftermath. And a very unpleasant one for referee Marco Di Bello in particular.

The Bianconeri only drew 1-1 at home, although they were clear favourites to win. But the vision of a comfortable three-point lead vanished in the 24th minute when Lewis Ferguson sent Bologna into the lead.

Juventus only managed to equalise in the 80th minute. Dusan Vlahovic pounced on a neat centre in the penalty area and headed the ball towards goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski’s right post.

It should be noted that the 71st minute brought an absolutely crucial moment in the development of the match. Dan Ndoye was able to put the ball into the empty net and give his team a two-goal lead.

However, he didn’t get the finish as he was brought down by Samuel Iling Junior. Moreover, referee Di Bello ruled this indiscriminate tackle as illegal and not only did he not whistle for a penalty, VAR did not get involved either.

Will Di Bello receive a one-month ban?

Bologna coach Thiago Motta was understandably furious afterwards that his team were not given the opportunity to kick the penalty. According to reports from Football Italia, the Italian Referees Association (AIA) is also angered by referee Di Bello’s dismal performance.

The latter is considering giving the referee a one-month ban as punishment. Of course, a financial penalty also comes to mind. The situation is not helped by Di Bella’s statement when he tried to explain his reasons for not taking the penalty to Bologna sporting director Marco Di Vaio and then to president Claudio Fenucci.

“Because I didn’t blow the whistle on Chiesa,” said Di Bello, quoted by Football Italia. The fourth referee, Matteo Marcenaro, apologised straight away to the Bologna directors. But it is not surprising that the Italian club’s management is openly talking about the fact that the referee deprived Bologna of a win.

Source: Serie A, Football Italia