Conte banned for two matches for referee outburst

Juventus coach Antonio Conte and three players have been banned for their tirade against referee Marco Guida in Saturday’s draw with Genoa.

Defenders Leonardo Bonucci and Giorgio Chiellini, forward Mirko Vucinic and director Giuseppe Marotta have also been suspended for criticising the referee following his decision not to award Juventus a penalty for a perceived handball by Genoa defender Andreas Granqvist.

The match finished in a 1-1 draw at Juventus Stadium.

Sporting judge Gianpaolo Tosel has since decided to ban Conte and Bonucci for two games and hand the pair 10,000-euro fines, stating that their punishment was for ‘intimidating the referee and an additional official, insulting them and then reiterating the comments in the dressing room after the game’.

Injured defender Chiellini ran from the stands to confront the officials and as a result will now be banned for one game, while Vucinic has been handed an identical sanction for protesting despite numerous warnings.

Marotta, meanwhile, has been suspended from duty until February 18, while the club will also have to pay 50,000 euros, in addition to the individual fines dished out.

In his post-match press conference, Conte was livid with the decision.

“When I hear certain things, ‘shame’ is the least I can say,” Conte said.

“(The goalline official Andrea) Romeo said it was a penalty. But Guida explained that he didn’t feel up to awarding it.

“I’ve had enough. I can accept a mistake if someone tells me ‘I didn’t see it’, but not that they just didn’t feel up to it. This is not football.

“We work hard all week and we want fairness.”

The Turin giants travel to Chievo next Sunday before hosting Fiorentina six days later in Serie A.