Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: Champions League, VAR, Serie A
Ben McCrum
A veteran Champions League referee has been suspended after threatening to kill a player during a match.
The second match week of the Champions League got underway on Tuesday night, with clubs like Arsenal, Manchester City and Barcelona all in action.
Thankfully, the matches were mostly free of any controversial VAR decisions or referee calls, with the only moment coming after Paris Saint-Germain players were adamant they should have been awarded a penalty during the 2-0 loss to Arsenal.
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But a new report has revealed that one long-serving Champions League referee has now been suspended from the competition after threatening to kill a player during a match.
According to The Daily Mail, Italian referee Fabio Maresca, who has long been an official in the Champions League, has now been suspended after threatening to kill a player while overseeing a match in the Kuwait Premier League.
The incident occurred during a match on Friday with Khaled Al Murshed who claimed that Maresca said: "See you next time, I'll kill you."
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However another player told Italian outlet Corriere della Sera that he instead simply said "see you next time" with no other remark.
Regardless, the Italian referee has been banned from overseeing matches in the Champions League and therefore was removed from his role as fourth official for Tuesday's 1-1 draw between PSV and Sporting Lisbon.
He is also at risk of being suspended from refereeing matches in the Serie A for at least a month, but will not be punished in Kuwait, with the incident reportedly resolved with 'on-field diplomacy'.
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The 43-year-old began his career as a referee by overseeing matches across his home nation Italy's professional matches in 2011, before taking charge of games in the elite European competition from 2018.
Perhaps the biggest moment of his career came in May when he sent off Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri in the Coppa Italia final victory over Atalanta.
Allegri was shown a red card after taking his jacket off and abusing the fourth official of the match, a moment seen by many as the final straw that led to him being sacked by the Serie A giants two days after the match.