Allegri hit with two-match ban and 10,000 euro fine, Napoli will appeal

The ruling

Serie A's sporting judge (giudice sportivo) has suspended Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri for two matches and fined him 10,000 euros. The penalty follows the Napoli-Roma match at the Maradona on Saturday, 24 October, which ended 3-3 and in which Allegri was sent off in the final minutes. The judge's decision, reported on Monday, 26 October, cites conduct at the 45th minute of the second half, a gravely disrespectful expression toward officials in the dressing rooms, and an aggressive attitude toward an official of the opposing club. Infractions were recorded by the fourth official and the referee, and the last one by collaborators of the federal prosecutor's office. The sanction is therefore based on several separate incidents, not on the dismissal alone.

Suspension and fine

The ban keeps Allegri off the bench for the away trip to Monza on Wednesday, 28 October, and for the match against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday, 1 November, which Il Fatto Quotidiano calls Juve-Napoli. He is due back for the home game against Lazio at the Maradona on 8 November, which kicks off at 12.30. The new fine adds to earlier penalties, and Allegri told Dazn that he had received an 80,000 euro fine the previous year. He told Dazn that the fourth official had called the referee over, and the referee had then sent him off.

On the dismissal itself, Allegri said:

“I had not said anything, it is done now and I am sorry.”

Appeal and open questions

Napoli, after requesting access to the case file, announced that it will appeal the two-match suspension. The judge's decision does not assess the words Allegri reportedly used about Roma after the match, and those words were drawn to the attention of federal inspectors. Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that many witnesses heard him make a remark in the corridors of the Maradona that referred to the Champions League and Milan. The judge did not take that remark into account, and federal prosecutor Giuseppe Chinè could evaluate it. The case therefore remains open alongside the appeal.

The disputed red card

Allegri strongly contested the red card, which Il Fatto Quotidiano says was issued after protests. Napoli defender Sam Beukema had stayed on the ground, but the same outlet reports that later images showed he had simulated. The sporting judge's communiqué gives a different reconstruction of events from the one Allegri offered. Allegri also complained that he is thrown out every time he moves.