Referee Fabio Maresca has been excluded from officiating UEFA Champions League matches after allegedly threatening to kill a player.
Reports indicate that the incident occurred in a clash involving Kuwait SC and Al-Arabi on Friday, September 27, 2024, which ended 2-0 in favor of the former.
Based on reports from Corriere della Sera, Maresca clashed with Khaled Al Murshed after the player bumped into him.
Referee Fabio Maresca Allegedly Threatens To Kill Khaled Al Murshed
Maresca took offense to the collision as aforementioned, which he believed was intentional, with Al Arabi board member Adnan Abdul claiming that the Italian referee threatened to “kill the player” after the incident, citing video evidence and witness testimony.
Abdul took to social media to indicate that he was taking the matter to the police station and pointed out the need for everyone to understand the phrase “sports and ethics.”
He wrote: “Heading to the Adailiya police station to file a case against the Italian referee of today’s match who managed a match for threatening player Khaled Al-Marshed with the phrase “I will kill you” and this is proven by video and evidence, and for each party to bear responsibility for bringing this type of referee to our stadiums and for everyone to understand the phrase sports are ethics.”
Fabio Maresca Excluded From Handling UEFA Champions League Matches
The occurrence has led to Maresca being removed from being the 4th official in Tuesday, October 1, 2024, Champions League match between PSV Eindhoven and Sporting Lisbon, which ended 1-1.
Referee Fabio Maresca was replaced by Daniele Doveri as 4th official for the game, while Marco Guida was the man with the whistle and he was assisted by Ciro Carbone and Giorgio Peretti.
Maresca appears at risk of being suspended for one month from handling Serie A matches.
Interestingly, Fabio Maresca, who was born on April 12, 1981, in Naples, is apparently set to go unpunished in Kuwait because the outburst was settled with “on-field diplomacy”.
Fabio Maresca
Maresca began officiating in Italy’s professional leagues in 2011 and has been involved in European competition since 2018.
Referee Fabio Maresca Has In The Past Made The News
In May 2024, the 43-year-old dismissed former Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri in the Coppa Italia final after he furiously confronted the fourth official in the clash involving the Bianconeri and Atalanta, which ended 1-0 in favor of the former.
Fabio Maresca has previously also been the target of huge scrutiny, with former Chelsea and Tottenham manager Antonio Conte having had a notable run-in with the referee.
In 2021, during his spell as boss of Inter Milan, Conte was sent off by Maresca during a clash with Udinese.
Antonio Conte was subsequently slammed with a two-match ban and a hefty £16,700 fine following a heated exchange in the tunnel post-match.
Conte was deemed to have accosted Maresca “in a threatening manner, shouting a seriously offensive expression at him.”
Following his dismissal in the dying embers of Inter Milan’s clash with Udinese in 2021, Conte is alleged to have exclaimed: “It’s always you, Maresca. It’s always you. Even in the VAR, it’s always you, Maresca. Well done, Maresca.”
It will be interesting to see if Fabio Maresca will be punished and the manner of punishment he will receive.
