Report: Rapuano punished after Verona-Juventus refereeing debacle | OneFootball

Referee Antonio Rapuano had a poor display while officiating Saturday’s Serie A contest between Hellas Verona and Juventus, so the AIA has reportedly decided to take measures.

The Bianconeri travelled east to take on Paolo Zanetti’s men at the Stadio Bentegodi. While they were aiming to preserve their perfect record in the league, they returned home with only one point in the bag following a 1-1 draw.

Francisco Conceicao broke the deadlock for Igor Tudor’s side with a lovely solo effort, but Gift Orban equalised from the spot on the stroke of half-time. However, the post-match talk was dominated by controversial refereeing episodes.

Verona vs Juventus was marred by refereeing blunders

Former Italian match official Luca Marelli insisted that Rapuano committed two mistakes that proved very costly for Juventus. First, he believes that Joao Mario’s handball shouldn’t have resulted in a penalty kick, and second, Orban’s nasty elbow on Federico Gatti should have earned the striker his marching orders.

Antonio Rapuano (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)

Therefore, the AIA (Italian football’s refereeing association) weren’t impressed by Rapuano’s performance, and have thus decided to take action.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport via IlBianconero, the 40-year-old will be demoted to Serie B next weekend.

Hence, Rapuano will have to prove his worth for at least a few weeks while officiating in Italy’s second-tier before earning a return to the top flight.

Antonio Rapuano demoted to Serie B

While the referee has been punished and Orban is expected to be suspended, Juventus won’t benefit from either decision, as the damage done by the officiating staff is irreparable.

The Bianconeri can only hope to bounce back with solid results in the coming weeks, beginning with Saturday’s clash against Atalanta at the Allianz Stadium.

The Old Lady is currently leading the Serie A standings with 10 points, albeit Napoli still have a match in hand, so they’ll be able to reclaim the lead by beating Pisa on Monday night.