The Italian referee Juan Luca Sacchi will be sanctioned with a one-match suspension for not shaking hands with his assistant referee, Francesca Di Monte, in the locker room tunnel before Lecce-Sassuolo, an image that sparked controversy in Italy despite the explanations of those involved and the Referees Association, who denied any sexist behavior.
Just before the start of Lecce-Sassuolo this Friday, in the locker room tunnel, Sacchi shook the hand of the Sassuolo captain and when he went to give it to the Lecce captain, he misjudged and found himself face to face with his teammate Di Monte, who handed him hand.
The main referee returned his greeting to the captain of the local team, leaving his teammate ‘hung’, who, surprised, showed a half smile given the awkwardness of the moment.
From that moment on, the networks caught fire with the images and criticism of Sacchi, which Di Monte herself tried to stop. “In the pre-match, in the tunnel, the referee greets the captains while we have our greeting moment on the field before the whistle blows,” Di Monte explained to ANSA on Sunday.
“My face looks shocked and embarrassed simply because it has caught me by surprise. I regret that a short video is exploited to touch on very heavy topics that require another form of respect and delicacy. The topic of lack of respect and violence towards a woman me hits very close to home, but that’s not the case,” he added.
“It is incredible how a case has arisen from this episode. Neither she nor I would have imagined these reactions. Denying a greeting to a colleague is a gesture that does not correspond to me at all,” Sacchi declared to the same Italian agency. .
Furthermore, the Italian Association of Referees (AIA) itself denied any type of sexist behavior. “A sexist gesture must be absolutely ruled out,” sources from the Italian college of referees told ANSA, “and obviously also a personal insult. The problem does not exist for us, it was just an involuntary and misinterpreted gesture.”
“Both have shown great understanding in the field and their performance has been excellent. It is quite surprising that there is talk of sexism within an association that has made the breaking of all gender barriers one of its main achievements” , noted the AIA.
However, despite the refusal of the three parties involved, this Monday several Italian media suggest that the AIA, in addition to a reprimand for not being attentive to these types of details, will leave the referee in the refrigerator for a day due to the controversy. generated, although there is nothing official at the moment and this weekend there will be no games due to the break for national team matches.
