After a chaotic night at the Allianz Stadium, the Serie A sporting judge will make his decisions today regarding Juventus, Inter and striker Romelu Lukaku.
La Gazzetta dello Sport details how a number of incidents took place during the Derby d’Italia earlier this week, with the most egregious being the racist abuse directed at Lukaku, who was sent off after being handed a second yellow card for a ‘provocative celebration’.
An on-pitch brawl also occurred between Juventus’ Juan Cuadrado and Inter’s Samir Handanovic, leading to two further red cards.
Juventus will certainly be sanctioned by the sporting judge today, either being handed a fine or having a section of their stadium be closed for some matches following the abuse directed at Lukaku. The club’s cooperation with the authorities will be taken into account in this decision.
Cuadrado, who threw a punch at Handanovic, is at risk of being handed a three-game ban for ‘seriously unsportsmanlike conduct’. The Inter veteran could’ve provoked this, however, and Juventus will likely include this in their appeal as a mitigating factor.
Finally, the decision regarding Lukaku. Despite the circumstances, the Belgian striker’s second yellow card and sending off automatically causes a one-game suspension, so he’ll miss the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals at San Siro.
La Stampa has published some details of the drama at the Allianz Stadium, starting with the racist abuse directed at Lukaku. The majority of the 5034 spectators in the South Stand allegedly took part in this vile behaviour after the player’s first booking and when he celebrated his goal. As he was leaving the pitch following the red card, more racist abuse came from Sector 101 of the West Stand.
Inter director Dario Baccin attempted to get in the face of referee Davide Massa and repeatedly insulted the official, saying: “D*ckhead” and “you’re a piece of sh*t”.