Italian referee Mauro Bergonzi will not officiate in this week’s matches and looks set to be dropped for an extended period after wrongly awarding two penalties against Juventus on Saturday.
Juve lost 3-1 at Napoli after Bergonzi awarded two highly debatable penalties to Napoli.
The referee has not been selected for any of Tuesday’s Serie B games or Wednesday’s Serie A matches, the Italian Football Federation Web site said.
Press reports claim that referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina could now ban Bergonzi for as long as a month and then keep him in Serie B for longer.
Meanwhile, Napoli striker Marcelo Zalayeta who dived for the second penalty, has been banned for two games.
Juventus boss Claudio Ranieri said he hoped his club were not being victimised because of their role in last year’s match-fixing scandal.
Juve were stripped of two titles and demoted in the affair but won promotion at the first attempt.
“We have already paid for the past, two championships and a relegation. We want to be treated like everyone else,” he told Italian media.
