\n<\/p>\n
As has become customary in Italy as the last few years have gone by, the day or two after the completion of the most recent matchday involves the general evaluation of how the referees have performed. And, considering the current state of refereeing in Italy (and across Europe as a whole), it\u2019s not like we go a weekend or two without Serie A coming out and basically saying \u201cOOPS! Got a few things wrong!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
That was certainly the case once again as the hours went by following Juventus\u2019 disappointing 1-1 draw with Hellas Verona over the weekend. As much as the performance from Juve was one that was not impressive by any means, that feels like even more the case when it comes to referee Antonio Rapuano, who has since been told he will be spending a little time in Serie B because of his less-than-stellar showing on Saturday evening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Three days later, we\u2019ve gotten the final verdict from referee designator Gianluca Rocchi regarding two of the biggest calls \u2014 or, in one case, a relative non-call \u2014 that went against Juventus during the 90-plus minutes against Hellas Verona. And you\u2019ll never guess what Rocchi had to say about the handball against Joao Mario that gave Hellas a penalty and the yellow card that looked like much more than that when Gift Orban \u2014 the scorer of said penalty \u2014 put an elbow into the side of Federico Gatti\u2019s skull.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\n\u201cThe [penalty] decision is not correct; it is not a penalty. The dynamic does not make Joao Mario\u2019s handball punishable. The player goes to head the ball, and the dropping ball hits his arm.\u201d<\/p>\n