The worrying rise of violence towards officials could see strike action in Italy's Serie A, according to the president of the Italian Referees' Association (AIA) Marcello Nicchi.
Italian Football Association (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio -- who is currently banned for six months over racist remarks -- has heard a plea from former referee Pierluigi Collina and Nicchi for action to be taken after a spate of incidents in the amateur game.
Two referees in Apulia -- one 17 and the other 18 -- were attacked on separate weekends and both needed hospital treatment. La Gazzetta dello Sport published alarming figures on Tuesday which show how there have been 375 reported incidents in which officials have been attacked or assaulted already this season.
"Enough is enough now," Nicchi said on Tuesday in Gazzetta dello Sport. "The FA has got to do something and give definite answers. We're faced with what is a national disgrace. We are not prepared to suffer any more violence and we could take action. We could go on strike, starting with Serie A."
There is only one more round of Serie A matches before the FIGC's next board meeting on Nov. 14 and there does not appear to be any sign of industrial action for the coming weekend, but the outcome of that meeting during the international break will determine whether or not the league season will reconvene on Nov. 22.
Tavecchio insisted that it will be on the agenda at the next FIGC board meeting in a bid to avert the threat of a strike.
"It's a situation which has got to be viewed with extreme attention and great determination," said Tavecchio in Wednesday's Gazzetta. "When Nicchi raised the painful subject at the last board meeting, there was a unanimous declaration of willingness to take action and study new solutions."
That action and those solutions are needed fast if strike action is to be averted and Tavecchio has reassured that the FIGC are going to take the issue seriously.
"We are not standing still," he said. "We need to find a way of reacting, and we want to do it as soon as possible. The entire advisory board shares this concern and all I can do is raise the issue, with determination."