Fiorentina vs. Juve: Cabal Escorted to the Locker Room After the Ugly Incident—Here’s What Happened

Tensions ran high at the end of the match between Fiorentina and Juventus: immediately after the game, an unfortunate incident involving Juan Cabal—who found himself unwittingly at the center of it—went viral on social media. At the final whistle, the Juventus defender approached the stands with the intention of giving his jersey to a Juventus fan in the stands.

However, the Colombian was immediately targeted by Fiorentina fans, who ordered the player to leave the stands immediately, preventing him from handing the jersey to the supporter. Cabal was subjected to severe verbal abuse, and some Fiorentina supporters threw objects onto the field. This was reported by Tuttosport.

Security personnel at the Franchi Stadium were forced to intervene to prevent the situation from escalating further: the player was stopped and escorted off the field toward the locker rooms. The video immediately went viral on social media, sparking heated discussions.

The match at the Artemio Franchi Stadium, part of the 11th round of Serie A, ended in a 2-2 draw. Fiorentina took the lead just 4 minutes in with a goal by Mateo Pellegrino, but Woltemade equalized in the 32nd minute off an assist from Kolo Muani. In the second half, the Viola regained the lead in the 54th minute through Njie, but in the 67th minute, Bremer headed home the equalizer to make it 2-2. In the closing minutes, Dragusin scored a goal that was later disallowed by referee Andrea Colombo for a foul on Bremer, while Vicario preserved the draw by denying Brescianini and Mastantuono.

Tensions were further fueled by the failure to call a penalty for a handball by Joao Mario—a former Juventus player on loan to Fiorentina—in the 79th minute: Colombo let play continue, and the VAR did not intervene. According to Luca Marelli on DAZN, “the arm was too far out to be considered non-punishable,” while Gianluca Rocchi argued there was enough time to react and pull the arm back. Gianpaolo Calvarese took the opposite view, stating that the decision to let play continue was “justifiable”. Luciano Spalletti was scathing in the press conference: “I don’t need to review it; I already saw it on the field. I don’t know what to say. Can I have the next question?”