Reprehensible scenes in Milan! Juventus officials “camped” on referee Federico La Penna: “You ruined the match!”
Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published on Sunday, 15 February 2026, 00:22 / Updated on Sunday, 15 February 2026 00:47
Inter beat Juventus, score 3-2in the first Derby D'Italia of the year. Officials of the “Old Lady” harshly accused the refereeing and surrounded the “central” Federico La Penna.
In the 42nd minute of the derby, with the score 1-1, referee La Penna sent off Pierre Kalulu for an alleged foul on Bastoni. Replays showed there was no contact.
The Juventus footballer saw his second yellow card. Despite the vehement protests, it was not possible to intervene from the VAR room. The protocol does not allow intervention in such a situation, for the second warning.
Scandal at the end of the Inter – Juventus derby
Zielinski's goal in the 90th minute sparked celebration in the home camp and added to the displeasure and frustration of the visitors.
The official Giorgio Chiellini and the coach Luciano Spalletti waited for the referee Federico La Penna at the entrance to the changing room corridor and shouted in his direction: “You ruined the game! Such a thing is not possible!”
The two were held with difficulty by the law enforcement officers. A melee was created from which the “central” came out with difficulty.
Giorgio Chiellini, Director of Football Strategy at Juventus, also ranted in interviews.
“Above all, we can't talk about football, because after what happened today, it's difficult. I appreciate the effort, but something unacceptable happened tonight. It's another episode from the beginning of the season that happened to us, it happens to others.
This mistake is unacceptable in a derby. Such a thing is not possible. As we have tried to say constructively since the start of the season, there is no appropriate level of refereeing for an Inter v Juventus match.
Is this the show we're putting on the world? It's the show we've unfortunately put on with other teams and other incidents since the start of the season. We must change immediately, we must not always postpone, as happens too often in Italian football,” said Chiellini, Director of Football Strategy at Juventus.
The statements of Damien Comolli, the delegated administrator of Juventus, on Sky Sport were also harsh: “We are ashamed! What the whole world saw tonight was embarrassing. It is a series of incidents that have happened to us since the beginning of the season. It is very difficult to accept situations like this. The coach and the players are very frustrated, as are our fans.”
And the press is scandalized!
Reach! Let's ditch VAR if it produces such embarrassing results. The second yellow card that led to Kalulu's dismissal is a resounding defeat for football. It is a wound that affects everyone. Does the protocol of this ridiculous VAR not allow intervention in such cases? Then it must be changed immediately. Because this sad episode ruined the Italian derby.
La Penna made a glaring mistake. I wonder how he didn't find the Juventus defender's desperation suspicious. Is it possible that he thought it was just a simulation? Didn't he even think to check with the assistant referee covering that area? La Penna deserves a long suspension.
The head of referees, Gianluca Rocchi, is facing increasing difficulties with these mediocre referees. Because of VAR, they have stopped refereeing and using their instincts to understand various situations. Reach! Enough with the simulations!
Is Bastoni proud of what he has done? Was he not even tempted for a moment to confess to the referee that there was no contact?
Chivu, being an intelligent man, replaced him at half-time. A moral elimination. But that is not enough. A player like him cannot wear the jersey of the Italian national team
– Luca Calamai, Gazzetta dello Sport columnist
