Juventus coach furious over penalty decision and lack of red card, also criticizes Serie A schedule.
Juventus coach Igor Tudor didn’t hold back after his team’s 1-1 draw away to Hellas Verona, blasting referee Rapuano and the Serie A league office in a heated post-match interview.
The Bianconeri, playing their third game in just seven days, saw their three-match winning streak snapped as Francisco Conceição’s early strike was canceled out by an Orban penalty. Tudor’s anger focused on two key refereeing decisions — the penalty given for a Joao Mario handball and the failure to send off Orban for an elbow on Gatti.
“It’s a disgrace,” Tudor said. “That penalty can only be given by someone who has never played football. And as for the elbow on Gatti, I was right there and saw it clearly. The referee told me Orban didn’t ‘load’ the strike. So now you can throw an elbow, but if you don’t ‘load’ it, it’s not a red card? These are decisions we haven’t seen in years. Both calls were 100% wrong, and this is how matches are decided.”
Frustration Over Scheduling
Tudor didn’t limit his criticism to the officiating. He also took aim at the Serie A scheduling, questioning why Juventus were forced to play on Saturday instead of Sunday while Napoli received more rest days.
“Maybe we could have played tomorrow night, but the league decides,” he said. “We’ve played three matches in seven days, while Napoli will play three in nine. These things affect the standings. Playing on the fourth or fifth day makes a huge difference. I want equality for everyone. If you stay quiet, you just get taken advantage of.”
On His Team’s Performance
The Juventus boss admitted his side lacked energy and sharpness, a clear sign of cup fatigue setting in.
“When you play every three days, it’s a completely different game,” Tudor explained. “It wasn’t one of our best performances, but we’ll take the point. The players gave everything, but we were missing that spark in attack. Defensively, we held up well, but in midfield and up front, we needed to do better. I’m not angry — you can’t win every match.”
Tudor also noted that the substitutes failed to make a real impact, particularly Openda, David, and Zhegrova, who is still recovering full fitness.
“These are our strengths and weaknesses. We can’t expect Adzic to solve everything on his own,” Tudor concluded.
