Massimiliano Allegri will not be on the Napoli touchline for the next two Serie A games after Serie A’s sports judge handed him a two-match ban and a €10,000 fine for his conduct during Saturday’s dramatic 3-3 draw with Roma.
The Roma flashpoint
Allegri was dismissed shortly after Leonardo Balerdi scored a late equaliser for Roma at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona. Napoli believed there had been a foul in the build-up, but the goal stood after a VAR check, and Allegri’s angry reaction brought a straight red card.
The disciplinary ruling, published on Monday, said the Napoli coach directed an abusive remark towards the match officials in the 45th minute of the second half. It added that he then directed a seriously disrespectful remark towards them in the dressing rooms and adopted an aggressive attitude towards an official from the opposing team.
The offences were noted by referee Andrea Colombo and fourth official Juan Luca Sacchi, with the final incident also recorded by officials from the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. Serie A’s sports judge, Gerardo Mastrandrea, imposed the two-match suspension and the fine after the eighth round of the season, as Flashscore also reported.
Allegri has denied abusing the officials. Speaking to DAZN Italia after the match, he said: “The fourth official called the referee and got me sent off but I said absolutely nothing.”
What the ban means for Napoli
The ban rules Allegri out of the technical area for Wednesday’s trip to Monza and, crucially, for Sunday’s visit to Juventus in Turin — a reunion with the club he previously managed, which he will now have to watch from the stands.
It is a significant blow at a difficult moment. Napoli sit 10th in Serie A with 11 points from eight matches, having won only one of their last four league games, and the Juventus trip is exactly the kind of fixture where a coach’s touchline presence matters most.
Napoli have said they will lodge an appeal against the suspension and have requested access to the documents relating to the case. A separate disciplinary case could still follow over remarks Allegri is reported to have made about Roma after the match, which were not included in Mastrandrea’s ruling.
Injuries deepen the defensive crisis
The ban is not Napoli’s only problem. Defenders Benoit Badiashile and Leonardo Spinazzola will also miss the Monza and Juventus games, as well as the Champions League fixture against Porto.
Napoli said Badiashile’s tests showed a moderate tear to the rectus femoris muscle in his right thigh, while Spinazzola suffered a grade-one tear to the biceps femoris in his right thigh in the closing stages against Roma. The pair are expected to miss the next three games, with Badiashile also unavailable for the meeting with Lazio, while Spinazzola could recover in time for that match.
There is one piece of good news: Amir Rrahmani has returned to full team training after missing Napoli’s recent games, although Allegri may choose to rest him against Monza with Juventus in mind. Napoli showed their attacking firepower in the 4-3 win over Bodo/Glimt, but the defence now needs to hold together without two starters. Badiashile could return against Torino on 21 November or in the Champions League trip to Manchester City.
So what now for Napoli?
Napoli led Roma twice and still let victory slip away, and that pattern — control without a killer edge — is now compounded by a coach in the stands and a defence held together with tape. Monza away is winnable, but it is also the kind of game that punishes a distracted side, and Juventus away without Allegri on the touchline is a far harder assignment than it already was.
The appeal may yet change the picture, but unless it succeeds quickly, Napoli must prove they can organise themselves without their coach in the two games that will shape their November. The draw with Roma, for all its drama, left them chasing the pack; the next week decides whether that chase stays alive.
Beyond the Final Whistle: Allegri’s fury at the Balerdi equaliser was understandable in the heat of a six-goal thriller, but the ruling is clear — what happened after the whistle, in the tunnel and the dressing rooms, is what cost him. Napoli cannot afford to let one night of indiscipline derail a season already wobbling, and the Juventus reunion, watched from the stands, will sting most of all.
Do you think the two-match ban fits the offence, or should Napoli’s appeal succeed?
