There’s nothing more infuriating than an incorrect refereeing decision, never mind when it’s against the team you support.
Whether it be a questionable offside call, a soft red card or a penalty that wasn’t even a foul, it’s an occupational hazard of watching the beautiful game. That doesn’t make it any less painful, though.As a result, you’ve got to feel sorry for Lazio fans today as they will certainly feel aggrieved with officials.
Whether it be a questionable offside call, a soft red card or a penalty that wasn’t even a foul, it’s an occupational hazard of watching the beautiful game. That doesn’t make it any less painful, though.As a result, you’ve got to feel sorry for Lazio fans today as they will certainly feel aggrieved with officials.
This weekend has seen Lazio and AS Roma lock horns in the Derby della Capitale. It may not have the prestige of the Milan derby or the fire of clashes between the Turin sides, but it arrests the attention of the Italian capital twice every season.
Recently, Roma have held the bragging rights and with their performances in Serie A over the past few seasons, it should come as little surprise. Lazio have overcome their local rivalries just once in the last nine meetings.
The ‘away’ side managed to hold on until the 45th minute, only for their lead to appear threatened by the awarding of a penalty.Therefore, supporters knew they had an interesting clash on their hands, when it was Lazio who opened the scoring. A neat left footed finish virtue of Keita Balde Diao propelled the Biancocelesti into a 12th minute lead.
With halftime looming, Roma won a spot kick after Wallace Fortuna dos Santos ‘fouled’ midfielder Kevin Strootman in the area. However, the incident will go down as one of the most embarrassing and scandalous dives of the season.
Dos Santos’ tackle was simply awful, not because it was aggressive but because he was so far from both the ball and Strootman. In spite of this, the Roma man, a good six inches away from contact, flung himself to the ground.
The dive was well timed with the tackle yet the pair were so far from one another that it’s a mystery as to how the referee missed it. The cringe-worthy incident can be seen below:
An outrageous dive from Kevin Strootman allows Daniele De Rossi to draw Roma level in the #DerbyDellaCapitale...🙈😏 pic.twitter.com/r2Izg9oGjl— BT Sport Football (@btsportfootball) April 30, 2017
With Francesco Totti on the bench, Danielle de Rossi inherited penalty duties and found the net with a nonchalant finish.
Thankfully though, as far as justice is concerned, Lazio regained their lead and spurred themselves on to victory.
Dusan Basta scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-1 before Balde Diao bagged his second strike of the evening with five minutes to play. To make things worse for Roma, Antonio Rudiger was sent off in stoppage time.
Dusan Basta scored his first goal of the season to make it 2-1 before Balde Diao bagged his second strike of the evening with five minutes to play. To make things worse for Roma, Antonio Rudiger was sent off in stoppage time.
Cheating didn’t pay off in the end then for Strootman with Lazio causing an upset at the Stadio Olimpico. Nevertheless, Roma maintain their position in second and with an eight-point advantage over their city rivals to boot.
However, on a day that has seen Marcus Rashford slammed for diving too, the Englishman can at least take sanctuary in the fact his effort was far less embarrassing. Strootman needs to take a long look at himself, period.
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