Referee Juan Luca Sacchi will be suspended for a round after he refused to shake the hand of his assistant Di Monti before the match between Lecce and Sassuolo.

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I don't know if I'd have been able to officiate after this, fair play to her for being the bigger person and carrying on with her responsibilities!

— REF (@ReviewEveryFoul) October 9, 2023

According to reports in Italy, Sacchi will now be handed a one-match suspension as punishment for the incident.

His actions are said to have caused embarrassment to the Italian Referees Association (AIA), who have claimed it was not a form of sexist discrimination.

The report adds that Sacchi was scolded in private by referee designator Gianluca Rocchi after footage of the snub emerged.

A statement from the AIA, via news agency Ansa, explained: “We can absolutely exclude that this was a sexist gesture or a personal snub.

“As far as we are concerned, it is not a problem, it was only an involuntary gesture that was misinterpreted.

“The two colleagues worked well during the match and their performance was excellent.’