Gianluigi Buffon ‘set to escape one-match ban

Gianluigi Buffon is set to escape a one-match ban after allegedly shouting ‘Porco Dio!’ to a Juventus team-mate against Parma last year.

The legendary goalkeeper’s supposed remark, which translates as ‘God is a pig’, was not proven by the Italian authorities due to a lack of clear audio.

He was accused of yelling at Manolo Portanova: ‘I want to see you stay there, running and suffering’ before allegedly using the offensive phrase on December 19.

Back in 2010, the ‘Blashphemy Law’ was introduced and a number of players in Serie A have previously been caught out.

Many Italians consider blasphemy to be the worst kind of swearing in what remains a deeply religious country.

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he will be cleared of any wrongdoing as the evidence is not sufficient to hit him with a suspension.

A Sporting Judge in Italy has been looking at the incident because referee Gianpaolo Calvarese did not including it in his match report following Juventus’ 4-0 Coppa Italia win.

Even if the 43-year-old veteran, who is behind Wojciech Szczesny in the pecking order, was banned, he would not be the first in Italian football.

In December 2020, Roma midfielder Bryan Cristante received a one-match ban for using a blasphemous phrase during a 5-1 win over Bologna that was picked up by television camera.

In 2019, Sassuolo player Francesco Magnanelli and Parma’s Matteo Scozzarella, now at Monza, were also punished for a similar offence.

And in 2018, Juventus player Rolando Mandragora was also penalised under the blasphemy laws.