Lazio furious at VAR after defeat: ‘Juventus do not need these gifts’ | OneFootball

Lazio director Angelo Maria Fabiani complained about the refereeing after the 1-0 defeat, insisting Douglas Luiz should’ve been sent off. ‘Juventus do not need these gifts to win a game.’

It was an uphill struggle from practically the start, because Alessio Romagnoli went into a last-ditch tackle from behind on Pierre Kalulu and didn’t get the ball, leaving Lazio down to 10 men from the 24th minute.

Nonetheless, Ivan Provedel made very few saves until the closing stages of the match and was only eventually defeated by his teammate.

Mario Gila had been struggling with a muscular issue for some time with all the substitutions completed and got it all wrong on the clearance, turning Juan Cabal’s cross into his own net.

Lazio blame VAR for lack of ‘uniformity’

“We must congratulate our lads for putting in an exceptional performance,” Fabiani told Sky Sport Italia.

“What leaves us with regrets is that the entire football world is asking for the decisions to be uniform across the board. Before the goal, Douglas Luiz punched Patric, but VAR did not see and did not intervene, despite the footage being there. Douglas Luiz had also gone in studs-up on Rovella and there was no intervention, but they do intervene on the red card.

“In that situation, we can absolve the referee of blame, because he had seen the situation play out on the field and already evaluated it correctly.”

The referee had allowed play to continue on the Romagnoli challenge, but changed his mind to a red card after viewing it again on the On-Field Review.

“We already conceded a penalty against Fiorentina because of a freeze-frame of a tiny touch, but here they did not intervene for a punch. So I want to understand what exactly is this VAR for? If it is needed, then it should intervene always and for everything, not just one-way traffic.

“Otherwise, we should reduce football to a non-contact sport. I would suggest a petition then to have VAR removed, because it is doing nothing but causing damage this season with the complete lack of uniformity.

“There was a punch on Patric from Douglas Luiz, it is violent conduct and ought to be a red card. I do not understand why it was not sanctioned. We feel that we are being taken for a ride, we work all week and are then frustrated by this behaviour.”

TURIN, ITALY – OCTOBER 19: Pat Allianz Stadiumric of SS Lazio compete for the ball with Douglas Luiz of Juventus during the Serie A match between Juventus and Lazio at Allianz Stadium on October 19, 2024 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)

The ‘punch’ did indeed appear to be intentional and off the ball, but it was on Patric’s back and not his face or ribs after they struggled to free each other from marking.

“We are sporting, let us be clear that Juventus do not need these gifts to win a match.”

There have been suggestions that coaches could be given some ‘challenges’ to request VAR evaluation, similar to modern tennis, but Lazio director Fabiani is not happy with that either.

“I can assure you, it would make things even more confusing. It would spark a mechanism where a game could last three or four hours. We must allow the referee on the field to judge, as often he is right. When he is called back, it has to be a clear and obvious error, not one decided by a freeze-frame.

“If I get decisions wrong in my job, I get fired, I am thrown out. By the same token, these VAR officials ought to be sacked for doing a bad job, or at least given two months off. This is for the good of football, not for Lazio. If you are in that booth, you must be focused for 90 minutes and spot everything.”