Krasic banned for two games for diving
Reuters - Tuesday 26 October 2010, 13:16
MILAN - Juventus winger Milos Krasic will
miss Saturday's Serie A clash at AC Milan after being banned for
two matches on Tuesday for diving to win a penalty in Sunday's
0-0 draw at Bologna.
Serie A said that after reviewing video evidence, it was
clear there was no contact with Bologna's Daniele Portanova.
"The referee made an error because of a dive by the Juventus
player," a statement said, adding Krasic must serve a two-game
ban.
Vincenzo Iaquinta missed the resulting penalty after 36
minutes to partly placate furious Bologna players but Italian
media has castigated Serbia's Krasic, who had made an excellent
start to his Juve career.
The winger looked destined for a ban when team mate Alberto
Aquilani admitted after the game that Krasic had "made a
mistake" although others at the club defended the player despite
the television evidence looking damning.
Italian football has used video evidence after matches to ban
divers in the past and has been at the forefront of calls for
world governing body FIFA to make use of technology while games
take place.
Blonde-haired Krasic, a transfer window signing from CSKA
Moscow, had quickly gained a place in Juve fans' hearts thanks
to his driving runs and resemblance to former hero Pavel Nedved.
His absence for fifth-placed Juve against second-placed
Milan has been made worse by news that Amauri will miss the game
with an Achilles problem while fellow striker Iaquinta is highly
doubtful with a knee injury.
Alessandro Del Piero, one away from breaking the club's
Serie A scoring record of 178 goals at the age of 35, is likely
to come into the side and lead the line with Fabio Quagliarella.