Lazio President Claudio Lotito has expressed his dissatisfaction regarding the three red cards issued during their recent defeat against Milan, characterizing it as a ‘forced defeat’. Lotito has articulated concerns over the reliability of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) in ensuring fair judgment. Consequently, he has announced his intention to advocate for the establishment of a ‘third institution’ to oversee such matters.
The frustration of the Lazio camp was palpable following referee Marco Di Bello’s decisions, particularly regarding two pivotal incidents. Firstly, there was contention surrounding Mike Maignan’s collision with Taty Castellanos in the penalty area, and secondly, Luca Pellegrini’s dismissal due to a second yellow card for an unintentional challenge on Christian Pulisic while attempting to clear the ball.
Tensions escalated during stoppage time following Noah Okafor’s goal, resulting in Adam Marusic’s expulsion for dissent, followed by Matteo Guendouzi’s contentious red card for a foul on Pulisic.
Following the match, Coach Maurizio Sarri abstained from addressing the media, leaving President Lotito as the sole representative to criticize DAZN, the broadcasting network.
“When the game goes like this, there have to be organisms set aside to evaluate the situation,” said Lotito.
“It means the system is unreliable and when that happens, we need a third level of the institutions to put an end to this situation. When you break the law, there is an institution to judge.
“In my view, today we went beyond the red line. We went beyond every imaginable limit. The club will make its voice heard in the right places for what everybody saw.
“If the system is not able to guarantee its own reliability, then we need to pose some questions. We will make our voice heard in other institutions.”
The recent development occurred shortly after Lotito issued a cautionary statement, asserting Lazio’s disapproval of the Lega Serie A’s intention to initiate legal action against the FIGC and establish an independent division akin to the Premier League. Consequently, Lotito was predisposed towards rebuffing their jurisdiction.
Not since November 2012, when Palermo faced Bologna in a Serie A match, has any team incurred three red cards within a single fixture.
“I don’t know who Di Bello is or where he comes from. The time has come for the Lega to create a third element outside of the system.
“I feel like the respect of the rules and of merit was lacking today. This was a forced defeat. A preannounced death. I know what institutions we should turn to and with which means to intervene.
“Football is about sporting values: today this game was entirely lacking in sporting values. I do not speak about this defeat with regret, but with the certainty of what I saw and what happened.”
Lotito also covered many of the same points with Sky Sport Italia.
“I wish to do what any citizen would do when the rules have not been respected. If someone breaks the law, is there not someone who is capable of judging whether it was done on purpose or not? Otherwise there is anarchy. We just want the rules to be applied equally, with equanimity and objectivity.
“What happened was clear to everyone and anyone who is objective can evaluate what happened. This is not the first time it has happened, not just for Lazio, but other situations, we need to make sure a third, external institution can evaluate if this is a coincidence or not.”