August 30 – It isn’t every day that a top-flight player is banned for blasphemy but that’s what has happened in Italy where religion runs as deep as football.
In what could well be a first, Udinese midfielder Rolando Mandragora (pictured) has been handed a one-game band for making what was described as “blasphemous remarks” during their 1-0 win over Sampdoria at the weekend and will miss the match against Fiorentina on Sunday.
The former Juventus midfielder who has one international cap, was caught on television shouting ‘Porca Madonna, Vaffanculo, Dio Cane’, an insult to the Virgin Mary, while also referring to God as a dog.
The outburst from the Italy international came after Sampdoria goalkeeper Emil Eudero saved his shot. The remarks initially went unnoticed by officials but the incident was later reviewed.
“After acquiring and examining the relevant television images, the player, while cursing without referring to anybody around him, was nevertheless clearly seen by the television images to make blasphemous remarks, visibly identifiable from reading his lips without any margin for reasonable doubt,” a disciplinary report from the Lega Serie A said.
There is a strict ban on taking God’s name in vain in Italy but Mandragora’s club clearly felt the sanction was over the top. “Mandragora is a good person, the most he deserved was a warning,” said Udinese coach Daniele Prade.
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