La Penna wrongly sent off Juve’s Kalulu against Inter
Official could face one-month ban following incident
The referee Federico La Penna has received dozens of death threats after wrongly sending off a Juventus player at Inter on Saturday. Italian police have reportedly advised him not to leave his home.
La Penna sparked fury among Juventus supporters after dismissing Pierre Kalulu, showing the defender a second yellow card for a challenge on Alessandro Bastoni. Replays showed Bastoni had clearly simulated the fall. Juventus officials and fans argued that the decision heavily influenced the game, which Inter won 3-2, despite the Bianconeri having fought back to level the score with 10 men.
After the match, La Penna was subjected to a barrage of abuse on social media, including dozens of death threats – some directed at his family – with users posting messages such as: “I’ll shoot you;” “I’ll kill you;” and: “We’re coming to get you, we know where you live.” The referee has filed a formal complaint over the online attacks and, according to several Italian outlets including La Repubblica and SportMediaset, police have advised him to remain at home for the time being.
