Maurizio Sarri lost the appeal against his suspension, and he will follow Torino-Lazio from the stands as it happened in the previous game. The gaffer will be back on the bench for the Derby with Roma. He was slapped with a two-match ban for having an aggressive attitude toward Alexis Saelemaekers and swearing.
The Court of Appeal, helmed by judge Carmine Volpi, confirmed the sanction. Sarri erupted against it in a recent presser and threatened to take legal action against referee Daniele Chiffi. Now that he has exhausted his options on the sporting side, he will proceed, Corriere dello Sport reports.
He has mandated his lawyers to sue the official for defamation. However, there are no guarantees the case will even get to court. As it is customary in these instances, Sarri will need a special waiver by the Italian Football Association to go beyond the confines of the sports justice. Although his lawyers are preparing the documents to support his case, it would be unprecedented it was indeed granted, the publication adds.
Sarri had harshly criticized the punishment, saying that he just told Saelemaekers to be respectful. He suggested that the referee retaliated against him because he confronted him in the tunnel: “I told him that he allowed a kid to mock me for 15 minutes without doing anything. And he kicked me out instead. I did not swear. There are at least three persons that can vouch for me on that. Plus, I was not violent toward the Milan player at all.”