In an open letter to the Italian football federation and the referees' association, signed by Gigli and Juve chief executive Jean-Claude Blanc, Juve have demanded that action be taken against costly decisions.

Reggina won thanks to a debatable last-gasp penalty fired home by former Juve striker Nicola Amoruso.

But the loss smarted all the more as the Bianconeri thought referee Paolo Dondarini should have awarded them three spot-kicks, feeling especially wronged by what looked like a clear-cut foul on former Liverpool midfielder Momo Sissoko in the second half.

"Over the course of this season and last, Juventus has always tried to ease the tensions in clashes with the refereeing world, avoiding getting involved in hateful polemics and accepting even controversial decisions with fair play," read the letter.

"An approach that, unfortunately, considering what happened in Reggio Calabria, must be reconsidered.

"Once again this season, Juventus has been irreversibly damaged by the decisions of the referee."

Juve's loss to the Calabrians was only their third of the season.

But their previous defeat - a 3-1 reverse at Napoli - was caused by two controversial penalties, and the Serie A giants feel that the latest incident is simply the last straw.

"The repetition of such serious episodes forces us to ask the highest federal organisations to intervene in order to guarantee the regularity of the championship and to protect the work and the professionalism of the players, coaches and leaders of Juventus," continued the letter.

"The federation has the duty to monitor the respect of the rules and to guarantee the fairness of the sporting competition, which has been put in discussion by the inadequateness of the referees."

Referees have borne the brunt of Serie A clubs' wrath on several occasions this season with games being controlled by a number of inexperienced match officials, partly because of some referees being struck off following the match-fixing affair.

But Juve feel that they are still being punished for that scandal which rocked Italian football two years ago and saw the Bianconeri stripped of their Scudetto and relegated to Serie B.

"What is certain is that Juventus cannot continue to pay for that which they have already completed an extremely serious penalty and that which has been resolved thanks to the passion of their own fans, who ask legitimately for respect," added the letter.

"Today, in a decisive part of the championship and in proximity to strategic decisions for the financial future of the club, Juventus asks the federation to take immediate and effective precautions to cure a gravely compromised situation.

"We need to rediscover faith in referees and give a boost to Italian football."