Runjaic explains why he took Lucca off after scoring penalty: ‘We have hierarchies’ | OneFootball

Kosta Runjaic has explained that Lorenzo Lucca’s decision to ignore internal ‘hierarchies’ was the main reason behind his decision to take the Italian off immediately after scoring a penalty kick during the first half of Udinese’s 1-0 victory over Lecce in Serie A on Friday night.

Udinese were awarded a penalty half an hour into their Serie A match against Lecce at the Via del Mare on Friday night. Captain Florian Thauvin was on the pitch, and was the designated penalty taker, but Lucca took hold of the ball and refused to let any of his teammates take it away from him.

This led to a confrontation from several of his Udinese teammates, who left Lucca celebrating on his own after he successfully converted past Wladimiro Falcone. Runjaic then hooked his goalscorer immediately after the penalty.

LECCE, ITALY – FEBRUARY 21: Head coach of Udinese Kosta Runjaic and Lorenzo Lucca of Udinese during the Serie A match between Lecce and Udinese at Stadio Via del Mare on February 21, 2025 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)

Runjaic explains Lucca first-half substitution

The decision to replace Lucca with Iker Bravo after 36 minutes was the first question Runjaic was asked during his post-match interview with DAZN.

The coach explained that he ‘doesn’t like’ players who don’t obey the rules, but insists that arguments over set-pieces is nothing new in football, and that the tension will be resolved in training.

“We have clear hierarchies with penalty kicks,” Runjaic explained, reported via TMW.

He continued: “I didn’t like the discussion, they were talking for a long time, he made the decision independently and I preferred to take him off the pitch after he took the penalty anyway, which he shot very well.

LECCE, ITALY – FEBRUARY 21: Lorenzo Lucca of Udinese scores a penalty during the Serie A match between Lecce and Udinese at Stadio Via del Mare on February 21, 2025 in Lecce, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images)

“It is also not the first time that two players on a team have argued over who gets to take a set-piece. We will definitely talk about this during the week.

“I made this choice because I don’t like those who don’t respect the rules, so I had to take measures. However, this will all be solved in training and we will focus on our next match.”