Inter & Juventus stars Bastoni & Locatelli among suspended players
Serie A Matchday 26 concluded with Bologna’s 1-0 victory over Udinese at the Dall’Ara on Monday night, and attention now turns to Matchday 27, which gets underway on Friday 28 February with Parma hosting Cagliari at 20:45 CET (21:45).
The Italian Football Federation’s sporting judge has confirmed eight players will serve suspensions for the upcoming round of fixtures, with Alessandro Bastoni and Manuel Locatelli the most prominent names on the list.
Bastoni & Locatelli suspended for Inter & Juventus
Both players had been on yellow card warnings going into the weekend and were booked during Matchday 26, triggering automatic one-match bans.
Bastoni’s absence will be a blow for Inter, who are chasing a record-breaking title, while Locatelli’s suspension leaves Juventus short in midfield during a crucial period of the season.
Inter host Genoa whilst Juventus travel to Roma. However, both teams have the added challenge of must-win midweek games.
Juventus lost 5-2 to Galatasaray in their first leg whilst Inter lost 3-1 in Norway to Bodo/Glimt.
Fiorentina’s Dodo and Sassuolo’s Walukiewicz find themselves in the same boat, also picking up bookings while on final warnings.
Three players were dismissed during Matchday 26 and will each serve one-game bans as a result.
Cagliari’s Mina and Verona’s Al-Musrati were both shown second yellow cards, while Torino’s Ilkhan received a straight red and will also sit out one match.
Finally, Verona’s Orban remains suspended, still serving the second of a two-match ban handed down following Matchday 25.