AN ITALIAN footballer has received a one-match suspension after television cameras caught him making ‘blasphemous remarks’.
Udinese midfielder Rolando Mandragora’s outburst came after he saw his shot blocked by Sampdoria keeper Emil Eudero.
Mandragora’s comments were not picked up by match officials during Sunday’s Italian top flight game, which Udinese won 1-0.
However the governing body, Lega Serie A, has taken retrospective action after the player's comments were caught on TV cameras.
According to BBC Sport, Mandragora shouted “Porca Madonna, Vaffanculo, Dio Cane”, an insult to the Virgin Mary, while also referring to God as a dog.
A disciplinary report from Lega Serie A said: “After acquiring and examining the relevant television images, the Bianconero 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.”
Mandragora will now miss Sunday’s game against Fiorentina.
Blasphemy is an administrative offence under Article 724 of the Italian Criminal Code, punishable by a fine between €51 and €309.
