Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has been handed a one-match ban for making a 'blasphemous expression' and will miss Saturday's Turin derby at Torino, the Italian Federal Court of Appeal has ruled. Andrea Pirlo will bemoan a ban in the build-up to a crucial game in Juventus' domestic seasonHis ban is not the first of its kind in Italian football, however. In December 2020, Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante received a one-match ban for using a blasphemous phrase during a 5-1 win over Bologna that was picked up by television camera. And in 2018, Juventus player Rolando Mandragora was also penalised under the blasphemy laws. Buffon, 43, has played only five Serie A games this season with Wojciech Szczesny the first-choice goalkeeper for the reigning champions.

Source: Daily Mail March 31, 2021 07:18 UTC