Italian referee designator Gianluca Rocchi has openly acknowledged the seriousness of the refereeing mistake that led to Pierre Kalulu’s sending-off in Inter–Juventus, while also condemning what he described as a culture of simulation in Serie A. Speaking by phone to news agency Ansa, the Italian referees’ chief reflected on Federico La Penna’s decision to show a second yellow card to the Juventus defender and the limits of the current VAR protocol.
“We are very sorry about the incident: for La Penna’s decision, which is clearly wrong, and for the fact that we were not able to use VAR to correct it,” Rocchi said, immediately recognising the referee’s error in managing Kalulu’s second booking. The red card, shown after contact with Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni, heavily conditioned the Derby d’Italia, later won by the Nerazzurri.
Rocchi underlined that La Penna himself is suffering after the episode but stressed that responsibility does not lie with the referee alone. “La Penna is mortified and we are close to him,” he explained, “but I have to tell you the truth: he is not the only one who made a mistake, because yesterday there was a clear simulation. The latest in a long series in a league where they are trying in every possible way to cheat us.”
