Just over two weeks ago, on April 7, he was assigned to Masnago a real ghost basket in Naples during the match against Varese. A real refereeing oversight (and not only that): a foul is called against Mannion on Owens’ shot which goes short, De Nicolao slaps it and lets the ball in. The referees awarded the two points to the GeVi big man, who also hadn’t scored. A very particular episode that would certainly have had consequences. On his Storie&Sport blog, Michele Spiezia once again discusses the dynamics linked to the race for the next FIP elections. Among these also that relating to the position of Luigi Lamonica, Commissioner of the Italian Referees Committee.
Returning to the Masnago episode, Spiezia makes known a letter from the head of the “Field Officers” Stefania Tagliolini in which she announces the suspension for four rounds of the refereeing trio (Lo Guzzo, Bongiorni, Pepponi) to the officials of Varese vs Napoli. The provision states that the sanction was taken “in agreement with the Commissioner and the Deputy Commissioner”, because “at 7’55 of the first quarter a foul was whistled by Mannion on Owens in the act of shooting, the ball did not go in, De Nicolao collects it on the rebound and deflects it to the basket. The referee validates the basket and signals an additional free throw in favor of Owens. The UDC should have noticed, intervened and informed the referee that Owens’ shot had not gone in.”
Spiezia comments in this regard: “Having said that the responsibility of the officials, in terms of the regulations, is secondary, However, there are no written provisions for the three unfortunate race directors who, however, coincidentally from that race onwards, were no longer designated (we are already in the third round of suspension since they are not included in the trio of the next round). Whether the suspension may be right is not in question, however these decisions should be made public, as is the case with measures against coaches and players…”.
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