Referee designator Gianluca Rocchi issued a formal apology after Pierre Kalulu was erroneously sent off during the Derby d’Italia, citing a refereeing blunder and Alessandro Bastoni’s blatant dive.
Refereeing designator Gianluca Rocchi has officially apologized for the “absurd” dismissal of Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu during Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Inter.
Official Federico La Penna showed Kalulu a second yellow card following what replays confirmed was a dive by Alessandro Bastoni.
Rocchi admitted the officiating team felt “very sorry” for the error, which stood because current VAR protocols prohibit intervention for second bookings.
Rocchi confirmed that La Penna is “distraught” by the mistake but also took aim at Bastoni’s conduct. He noted that the referee was “not the only one who made a mistake, because there was clear simulation yesterday.”
The incident has reportedly accelerated discussions within IFAB to change rules at their next assembly, potentially allowing VAR reviews for all red card scenarios to prevent similar game-changing injustices.