Napoli coach Allegri was suspended for two matches after being sent off against Roma

The sports judge in the Italian Football League announced, on Monday, that Napoli coach Massimiliano Allegri had been suspended for two matches and fined 10,000 euros, due to his insulting the match officials and his aggressive behavior towards a Roma official during the match that ended in a 3-3 draw on Saturday at Napoli Stadium.

Allegri's dismissal came shortly after Leonardo Balerdi's late equalizer for Roma; He strongly protested against awarding the goal due to an error during the build-up to the attack. But the video assistant referee acknowledged the validity of the goal, which angered the Italian coach and prompted the referee to show the red card in his face.

In addition to being fined 10,000 euros ($11,200), Allegri will miss the matches between Monza on Wednesday and Juventus on Sunday in the Italian League, at a time when Napoli, in tenth place, is seeking to regain its balance after achieving only one win in the last four matches in the competition.

The disciplinary body said, in a decision published on the league’s official website, that Allegri directed “offensive expressions to the match officials,” before he later showed “aggressive behavior toward one of the opposing team’s officials” inside the locker room.

The sports judge added that the fourth referee, Juan Luca Sacchi, and the referee, Andrea Colombo, documented these incidents, while the last incident was also documented by officials of the Federal Public Prosecution Office.

For his part, after the match, Allegri denied directing any insult to the referees, and told the DAZN Italia platform: “The fourth official communicated with the arena referee and was the reason for my expulsion, but I did not say anything at all.”

Barcelona said that full-back Xavi Espart will be out of action for about seven weeks due to a right ankle injury he suffered during a 2-1 loss to its guest Real Madrid in the Spanish Premier League yesterday (Sunday). Espart left the field in the 30th minute, and was replaced by Alejandro Balde.

Barcelona said that the injury occurred after an intervention in a joint game with a Real Madrid player.

Espart (19 years old) scored two goals and provided two assists during nine matches with the Catalan club this season.

Barcelona also lacks the services of defenders Andreas Christensen, Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia due to injuries.

Joao Cancelo, Balde, Pau Cuparci and Gerard Martin are the only defenders available in the squad currently.

The duration of Espart's absence from the field may mean that he will not participate again with Barcelona until the end of 2026, as the team will play its last match of the current year on December 20.

Agence France-Presse learned from identical sources that the match between Rennes of France and Olympiacos of Greece in the fourth round of the European League (Europa League) football competition, which was originally scheduled for Thursday, November 5, may be postponed to Wednesday, the fourth of that day, due to the expected social movements in France.

The Prefecture of Rennes told Agence France-Presse that “discussions are underway to advance the date of this match.”

The source in the governorate added, “The issue is not related to the available capabilities, but rather to the conditions of security and safety,” explaining the reason for these discussions.

France is scheduled to witness strikes and demonstrations called for by several unions on November 5, which will require a large mobilization of security forces.

A source familiar with the file indicated to Agence France-Presse that the current approach tends to hold the match on Wednesday, the fourth of November, subject to “the approval of the French authorities,” even though Wednesday is usually allocated to the European Union’s most important continental competition for the game, which is the European Champions League.