It’s about an alleged threat in Kuwait. That’s why the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has temporarily withdrawn its experienced referee Fabio Maresca. This also affects the current premier class.
The 43-year-old Fabio Maresca has been officiating in the Serie A for over ten years, with well over 100 matches under his belt.
The Naples-born referee is therefore an experienced man who has seen and experienced quite a bit, not least because he has been a FIFA referee since 2020 and has officiated in matches outside Europe in this capacity.
But a recent incident took on previously unknown dimensions.
According to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, there has recently been an incident in the Kuwait Premier League, in which Maresca was appointed by the world governing body. There was apparently a verbal altercation during the game between league leaders Kuwait SC, who have not lost in their last six games (W6), and Al-Arabi (2-0), which was played on Friday.
According to the report, the referee is said to have argued with Al-Arabi midfielder Khaled Al Mershed and said “See you next time”. However, there are allegations that Maresca added a threat to this: “Next time I’ll kill you.”
According to Corriere della Sera, there will be no consequences from Kuwait or the Kuwaiti association. However, the Italian association FIGC (Federazione Italiana Giuoco Calcio) has reacted and suspended Maresca for a month.
This means that his planned assignment in the Champions League has also been canceled. The referee was supposed to be the fourth official in the match between PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon this Tuesday evening – Daniele Doveri took over at short notice.