The AIA (Italian Referees Association) has denied that Juan Luca Sacchi refused to shake the hand of his assistant Francesca Di Monte due to sexism.
The incident was caught on camera in the tunnel ahead of Friday evening’s Serie A match between Lecce and Sassuolo at the Stadio Via del Mare.
Sacchi shook hands with one captain, then turned and as Di Monte raised her hand to meet his, he shrugged it aside to instead shake hands with the other captain.
Di Monte seemed amused by the snub rather than shaken or offended, but it went viral with suggestions Sacchi had been ‘sexist’ in refusing to shake hands with his assistant.
Others noted he was just trying to be absolutely fair to the two teams by shaking hands with both captains.
Sources from the AIA spoke to news agency Ansa about the situation.
“We can absolutely exclude that this was a sexist gesture or a personal snub. As far as we are concerned, it is not a problem, it was only an involuntary gesture that was misinterpreted.
“The two colleagues worked well during the match and their performance was excellent. What is truly surprising is that there is talk of sexism in an association that has made the knocking down of gender barriers one of its greatest achievements.”
There are now several female referees and assistant referees working regularly in Serie A and B.