Referee Gianluca Rocchi admits he could have handled Maicon penalty incident better

Referee Gianluca Rocchi has conceded that his management of Maicon’s alleged handball in Roma’s 3-2 defeat to Juventus could have set the tone for a heated contest. The official initially gave a free-kick against Maicon, but eventually changed his decision and awarding Juventus a penalty.  Rocchi’s choice to alter his initial judgement increased the tension […]
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sambafoot_admin
2014-10-21 22:04:00

Referee Gianluca Rocchi has conceded that his management of Maicon’s alleged handball in Roma’s 3-2 defeat to Juventus could have set the tone for a heated contest.

The official initially gave a free-kick against Maicon, but eventually changed his decision and awarding Juventus a penalty. 

Rocchi’s choice to alter his initial judgement increased the tension between Roma and Juventus players and he admits that he could have prevented that by being more decisive.

"My overseeing of the Maicon penalty was anomalous," he told Il Processo del Lunedi.

"We can say that my management did not stabilise the situation and has created tension between the players and against the referee.

"Having reviewed the game and evaluated and revised my performance, as I always do, the most scrutiny was rightly placed on that [Maicon] incident.

"This could be key to understanding what has happened after in the game."