Champions League referee Fabio Maresca removed from match after allegedly threatening to kill a player

The ref was due to take up fourth official duties for the Champions League match between PSV Eindhoven and Sporting CP, which took place yesterday (October 1). However, he was removed from duties and faces being stripped of Serie A matches in his home country of Italy.

According to Italian outlet Corriere delle Sera, Manesca was involved in an incident that took place during a Kuwait Premier League fixture between Kuwait SC and Al-Aarabi on Friday night (September 27). The referee allegedly spoke to Al-Arabi star Khald Al Mershed in English, with the player lodging a complaint against him.

Conflicting reports claim that Maresca only told the player ‘see you next time’. However, Al Mershed claimed that Maresca told him: “See you next time, I’ll kill you.”

Adnan Abdul, an Al-Arabi baord member and lawyer, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter): "Heading to the Adailiya police station to file a case against the Italian referee of today’s match who managed a match for threatening player Khaled Al-Marshed with the phrase “I will kill you” and this is proven by video and evidence, and for each party to bear responsibility for bringing this type of referee to our stadiums and for everyone to understand the phrase “sports are ethics."

The conflict was allegedly resolved with “on field diplomacy”, which Maresca said to be unlikely to face any further action in Kuwait. However, he has been suspended from Serie A matches from one month.