Serie A’s referee designator Gianluca Rocchi said the match official Federico La Penna was “clearly wrong” in showing the Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu a second yellow card during Saturday’s loss at Inter, and apologised over the incident.
Kalulu was sent off after Inter’s Alessandro Bastoni tumbled to the ground and immediately gestured towards the referee demanding a card, indicating that Kalulu had grabbed his shirt to bring him down. Television footage suggested there was no contact between the players. Juventus, down to 10 men after the sending off, lost 3-2, meaning Inter are now eight points clear at the top.
“We are very sorry about the incident, about La Penna’s decision, which was clearly wrong, and about the fact that VAR could not be used to rectify it,” Rocchi told Italian news agency Ansa. “La Penna is mortified and we are close to him, but I have to tell you the truth that he is not the only one who made a mistake, because yesterday there was clear simulation.”
Kalulu made the VAR gesture as he protested his marching orders, but the league’s protocol prevents the use of VAR in yellow card situations, including for second yellows that lead to sendings off.
The Juventus coach, Luciano Spalletti, and the director Giorgio Chiellini later confronted La Penna in the tunnel. “Something completely unacceptable happened today, it doesn’t matter whether it happens to us or someone else, and from tomorrow presumably VAR will have to change, because this is not acceptable that so many errors keep happening even in big games like this,” Chiellini told Sky Italia.
The Napoli debutant Alisson Santos scored a late equaliser as the Serie A champions snatched a 2-2 home draw against Roma on Sunday to keep them third in the Serie A standings and maintain their unbeaten home record in the Italian league this season.
The Brazilian, coming on as a substitute for his first league outing since moving from the Portuguese side Sporting, thrashed home a powerful shot eight minutes from the end to keep Napoli three points ahead of fourth-placed Roma.
The visitors looked on course to dislodge their hosts as the striker Donyell Malen continued his scoring spree since arriving in Serie A with a double. The Dutch international, who joined on loan from Aston Villa last month, opened the scoring in the seventh minute and added a 71st-minute penalty as he took his goal tally to five in as many games. But Napoli fought back after both goals to equalise first through Leonardo Spinazzola in the 40th minute and then Santos as they advanced to 50 points, 11 behind the leaders Inter.
Bologna snapped a four-match losing streak in Serie A after Santiago Castro hit a 70th-minute winner to secure a 2-1 triumph at Torino. It sent Vincenzo Italiano’s team up to eighth and above Udinese, who lost 2-1 at home to Sassuolo.
In Spain Fran Pérez, Óscar Valentín and Nobel Mendy fired Rayo Vallecano to a 3-0 win over an understrength Atlético Madrid in a La Liga match overshadowed by protests against the Rayo owner, Raúl Martín Presa.
With Atlético’s focus on Wednesday’s Champions League knockout playoff at Club Brugge, Diego Simeone selected a weakened side and paid the price, with Pérez and Valentín scoring before the break and Mendy wrapping things up in the second half.
For Rayo, the victory provides breathing space in their battle near the bottom. They are one point clear of the relegation zone on 25 points, while Atlético remain fourth on 45 points, 15 behind leaders Barcelona.
Played in front of swathes of empty seats at Leganés’ Butarque stadium, the fixture was relocated after La Liga ruled Rayo’s pitch at Vallecas unplayable. The sparse crowd made plenty of noise nonetheless, directing their anger at Presa throughout.
Fifth-placed Real Betis are only four points behind Atlético after goals by Abde Ezzalzouli and Cedric Bakambu earned a 2-1 win over Real Mallorca.
Lyon leapfrogged Marseille to move up to third in Ligue 1 as second-half goals from Corentin Tolisso and Noah Nartey sunk Nice 2-0. Auxerre took a big step towards safety with a 3-1 victory at bottom-of-the-table Metz after Sadibou Sané and Michel Mboula put through their own net for the hosts.
In the Bundesliga, the Brighton loanee Brajan Gruda struck in the 89th minute as fifth-placed RB Leipzig rescued a 2-2 draw at home to relegation-threatened Wolfsburg.