Lazio lost 1-0 to Milan in the Serie A yesterday in what was one of the most controversial games of the season so far.
Lazio had three players sent off – Luca Pellegrini, Matteo Guendouzi and full-back Adam Marusic and the side doesn’t seem happy about the sending offs, with multiple players having criticised officials for sending off three players. Pellegrini himself took to social media to refer to officiating as ‘unsportsmanlike’.
Club CEO Lotito has also expressed his dissatisfaction about the game, stating that he has never seen such a poorly refereed game in his life.
He told LazioStyle Channel when asked whether he has seen a more poorly officiated encounter (via TMW):
“Never. When episodes happen they don’t happen by chance, it means that the system is no longer able to guarantee third-party standing, you win on merit. If we had continued the match we would have been left with 7 men and the defeat was a forfeit, because there wasn’t a sufficient number of players. The issue is that one must address the problem that it doesn’t belong to Lazio, Lazio is the scapegoat, the facts speak for themselves.
The club CEO also emphasised on the need to have third party officials in the game who aren’t associated with the Serie A:
“It’s not the first time that facts have happened that aren’t in line with third-party evaluation. Since the system is not able to guarantee third-partyness, it is clear that we are turning to the outside and they could reveal behind the scenes. I don’t think that when these things happen, they happen by chance. I’ll speak because I don’t have to send messages and signals. I am made for facts, for the politics of facts.”
Lotito has been speaking against the Serie A in recent weeks and he also spoke about the fact that the league’s reliability is now being undermined.
“Since this reliability is undermined, it is clear that one is forced to find alternative solutions. In addition to the political aspect I was referring to the specific theme, the moment in which the situation in the same institution does not find comfort or shelter, it refers to other institutions. Team? Yes, I have already seen it, a feeling of a mortified, frustrated, but combative team and it is a positive thing. It means that there is pride in being on the right side.”
Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN
