A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE referee has been suspended from officiating after allegedly threatening to kill a player during a game.
Italian referee Fabio Maresca has been removed from refereeing duties in the Serie A for a month and was also taken off of Tuesday’s Champions League clash between PSV and Sporting CP.
Referee Fabio Maresca has been suspended from officiating in Italy for one month and taken off of Champions League duties[/caption]
According to Corriere della Sera, an incident occurred during a brief conversation in English between Maresca and Al-Arabi star Khald Al Mershed on Friday.
Maresca had taken charge of the Kuwait Premier League fixture between Kuwait SC and Al-Arabi, which ended in a 2-0 win for the home side.
Conflicting accounts of the conversation have arisen in the report, with the player lodging a serious complaint against him.
It has been claimed Maresca said something along the lines of “see you next time”.
However, Al-Mershed accused the ref of saying: “See you next time, I’ll kill you.”
Maresca is reportedly unlikely to face further punishment in Kuwait following the incident because it was resolved with “on-field diplomacy”.
The 43-year-old started off officiating in Italy‘s professional league in 2011 and has been involved in European competition since 2018.
In May he sent off then-Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri in the Coppa Italia final after he furiously confronted the fourth official.
Maresca has taken charge of one Serie A match this season.
This was the 2-2 draw between AC Milan and Torino on the opening weekend.
