Kalulu’s ban can only be overturned in one case – Could Gravina replicate Lukaku’s case?
After unfairly receiving his marching orders against Inter, Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu will be handed a one-match suspension unless the FIGC president personally intervenes.
The Frenchman was first booked for a challenge on Nicolo Barella, which many considered excessive. Ten minutes later he was sent off for a non-existent foul in one of the most scandalous refereeing decisions in recent memory.
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Match official Federico La Penna thought the 25-year-old had blocked Alessandro Bastoni’s run, but replays showed the Inter defender had maliciously dived, in a blatant act of simulation that should have resulted in a second booking for the latter.
Despite their valiant efforts, 10-man Juventus ended up suffering a 2-3 defeat due to Piotr Zielinski’s game-winning goal.
To top it all off, Kalulu’s red card cannot be overturned, as the regulations do not allow video reviews for second bookings.
Consequently, the sporting judge is expected to confirm the French defender’s one-match suspension on Tuesday, which will see him miss Saturday’s Serie A match against Como.
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Nevertheless, La Gazzetta du Sport identifies a last resort to avoid this new injustice.
As the pink newspaper explains, the president of the FIGC, Gabriele Gravina, has the power to grant a special pardon to a player.
Gravina last used this authority in 2023 to overturn the suspension of Romelu Lukaku. Ironically, this also stems from an incident during the Derby d’Italia.
At the time, Lukaku was an Inter player and he received racist abuse from a section of the Juventus fans as he converted a spot-kick during a Coppa Italia tie.
The match official then issued a second warning to the Belgian striker for silencing the Bianconeri fans during his celebration. Gravina therefore decided to grant this special grace to the player.
Nevertheless, the source believes that this scenario is unlikely to happen again in Kalulu’s case, so the Juventus defender will most likely be left out of the Como match.
