Serie A referee designator Gianluca Rocchi said referee Federico La Penna was "clearly wrong" in showing Juventus defender Pierre Kalulu a second yellow card during Saturday's loss at Inter Milan, and apologised over the incident.
Kalulu was sent off after Inter's Alessandro Bastoni tumbled to the ground and immediately gestured towards the referee demanding a card, indicating that Kalulu had grabbed his shirt to bring him down. Television footage suggested there was no contact between the players.
Juventus, down to 10 men after the sending-off, lost 3-2, meaning Inter are now eight points clear at the top of the league.
"We are very sorry about the incident, about La Penna's decision, which was clearly wrong, and about the fact that VAR could not be used to rectify it," Rocchi told Italian news agency ANSA.