Referee Di Bello's Wife Responds to Backlash with Heartfelt Letter

The numerous protests against referee Di Bello after the Olimpico match between Lazio and Milan have triggered the reaction of Carla Faggiano, the wife. Di Bello, all the mistakes in Lazio-Milan: from Pellegrini-Pulisic to the expulsions. The AIA has stopped him for at least a month. The controversies arising from the three expulsions granted by the referee towards three Lazio players continued even in the hours following the match. Di Bello has been stopped for at least a month from the Serie A fields but the wife decided to take a stand with a letter, then reshared by Marco Di Bello himself through Instagram stories. The letter from the referee Di Bello's wife: 'It is not easy to write while staying lucid and polite, it is not easy to remain balanced and serene. It is not easy at all, but I must be so as not to be overwhelmed and swallowed by this storm of hate. I do not want to talk about refereeing, I am not interested in talking about football and footballers, however, I cannot talk about sport because sport is no more: in sport, there is no room for hate and violence. Yet for two days, and who knows how many more will follow, the most unspeakable wickedness and hostility are being poured out on a MAN.' 'It is a media and social persecution without precedent. We live in a historical era where violence and abuse are condemned and distanced from, but we are still capable of hating, denigrating, offending, mistreating, and outraging others.' 'I am not here to defend Marco (Di Bello), as he is capable of doing so himself. I am here to stand by him, to lighten the emotional burden he has suffered. I am here to remind that behind a uniform, off the field, away from the cameras, there is a man. There are sacrifices, commitment, dedication, renunciations, dreams, successes, and failures. There is Marco Di Bello, there are his strength, his dignity, and much more that nothing and no one will ever be able to erase. 'In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity' (Albert Einstein) With Love! Carla