A CHAMPIONS LEAGUE referee has been suspended from officiating after allegedly threatening to kill a player during a game.
Italian referee Fabio Maresca has been removed from refereeing duties in Serie A for a month and was also taken off of Tuesday’s Champions League clash between PSV and Sporting CP.
According to Corriere della Sera, an incident occurred during a brief conversation in English between Maresca and Al-Arabi star Khald Al Mershed on Friday.
Maresca had taken charge of the Kuwait Premier League fixture between Kuwait SC and Al-Arabi, which ended in a 2-0 win for the home side.
Conflicting accounts of the conversation have arisen in the report, with the player lodging a serious complaint against him.
It has been claimed Maresca said something along the lines of “see you next time”.
However, Al-Mershed accused the ref of saying: “See you next time, I’ll kill you.”
Maresca is reportedly unlikely to face further punishment in Kuwait following the incident because it was resolved with “on-field diplomacy”.
The 43-year-old started off officiating in Italy‘s professional league in 2011 and has been involved in European competition since 2018.
In May he sent off then-Juventus boss Massimiliano Allegri in the Coppa Italia final after he furiously confronted the fourth official.
Maresca has taken charge of one Serie A match this season.
This was the 2-2 draw between AC Milan and Torino on the opening weekend.
