Juventus coach Spalletti and Cagliari’s Pisacane hit with 1-match bans after heated clash

By: The Associated Press Posted: 10:28 AM CDT Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026

MILAN (AP) — Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti and Cagliari counterpart Fabio Pisacane were handed one-match bans Tuesday following their altercation at the end of Sunday’s match.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

MILAN (AP) — Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti and Cagliari counterpart Fabio Pisacane were handed one-match bans Tuesday following their altercation at the end of Sunday’s match.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

MILAN (AP) — Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti and Cagliari counterpart Fabio Pisacane were handed one-match bans Tuesday following their altercation at the end of Sunday’s match.

Spalletti will miss this weekend’s home game against Lazio, while Pisacane will sit out Monday’s trip to Monza.

Cagliari held Juventus to a 1-1 draw on Sunday and both coaches were shown a straight red card after a heated face-off after the match.

Juventus's coach Luciano Spalletti reacts during the Serie A soccer match between Cagliari and Juventus, in Cagliari, Italy, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (Gianluca Zuddas/LaPresse via AP)

When the final whistle was blown, the two coaches approached each other for the usual post-match greetings, but the handshake was far from friendly.

Spalletti held Pisacane’s hand firmly, while the Cagliari coach grasped Spalletti’s other arm and heated words were exchanged before they were separated.

“Nothing happened really,” Spalletti said after the match. “I paid him a compliment: “Well done, you’re good at wasting a bit of time, too.

“He said to me, ‘What time?’ We stood there like that for a moment, but nothing happened, no harm was done.”

The Italian league’s judge said that Spalletti was handed the ban for having “adopted a provocative attitude towards the opposing team’s coach, creating a moment of tension between the members of the two benches.”

Pisacane was suspended for having “reacted to the opposing team’s coach’s provocative behavior, fueling a moment of tension between the members of the two benches.”

Meanwhile, Roma forward Donyell Malen was given a one-match ban after a straight red card in Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Como.

Serie A’s leading scorer escaped a two-game suspension because his “serious foul” on Como defender Kaiki wasn’t deemed violent conduct, but rather a genuine attempt to win the ball back.

Malen, who has scored six goals in as many league matches this season, will miss Saturday’s match at home against Genoa.

___

See AP’s full soccer coverage here