Juan Luca Sacchi: Italian Referee to Be Suspended After Snubbing Female Assistant

• Serie A referee Juan Luca Sacchi is set to be suspended after he refused to shake the hand of his assistant
• Sachhi appeared to blank his female assistant before they officiated the Lecce vs Sassuolo game on October 6
• It is reported that he was scolded in private by the referees' designator, Gianluca Rocchi

An Italian referee is set to be suspended for one game after he snubbed his female assistant just before the Lecce vs Sassuolo game in the Serie A on Friday, October 6.

Juan Luca Sacchi was spotted seemingly avoiding shaking the outstretched hand of Francesca Di Monte as the two sides lined up in the tunnel ahead of getting onto the pitch.

Di Monte appeared displeased with Sacchi's actions as he went on to greet the captains of the two sides. Football Italia reports that the Italian Referees Association has been on the receiving end of criticism since the video surfaced online.

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The body denied claims of sexism and gender-based discrimination, with Sacchi now set to be suspended for a minimum of one game.

Nikola Krstovic equalised for Lecce in the second half to cancel out Domenico Berardi's penalty.

Sacchi's past issues

Earlier this year, the 38-year-old official was at the centre of another controversy after a series of poor decisions during Inter Milan's clash against Monza.

As Sempre Italia reports, Francesco Acerbi has put Simone Inzaghi's side 3-1 up, but Sacchi disallowed the goal due to a foul on Pablo Mari in the build-up. However, replays showed that Mari was clipped by his own teammate Armando Izzo.

He also denied the Nerrazzuri a freekick after a poor challenge by Carlos Augusto, with the game ending in a two-all draw.

VAR apologies in the English Premier League

When the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was introduced to the English Premier League in 2019, many thought that the era of players getting away with wrong decisions or referees making incorrect decisions was behind us.

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After all, the video replays were readily available for the officials to make the correct decisions, so what could go wrong? However, seasons later, the complaints have been loud, with the referee's body, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), being forced to issue apologies to teams.

Sports Brief takes a look at all the other times PGMOL has offered an apology after a glaring mistake in the use of the VAR.