Lazio Midfielder Banned for Blasphemy Out of the Blue

Lazio received an unpleasant surprise from the sports judge, as Danilo Cataldi has been suspended for one game for protesting and swearing in the tunnel to the locker rooms after the Napoli loss, as emissaries of the federal prosecutor reported.

Players have often overturned this kind of sanction in the past. However, Lazio will not appeal, Il Messaggero reports. Differently from other instances, they don’t believe to have great chances because the incident didn’t happen on camera. Therefore, the midfielder will miss Sunday’s match against Verona.

As a result, Cataldi will most likely stay in the XI for the upcoming Europa League game against Feyenoord. Coach Maurizio Sarri is plotting to change his standard lineup but has to cope with a few issues. Pedro missed practice again due to his recurring ankle problems. Stefan Radu and Matteo Cancellieri have been under the weather in the past few days. Moreover, Nicolò Casale has been sporting bandage on his left knee.

Sergej Milinkovic-Savic could get the day off, at least initially, and the same goes for one of the two fullbacks, with Elseid Hysaj notching his first start of the season. Toma Basic or Matias Vecino will complete the midfield.

Our Take on Cataldi Getting Disqualified

It’s a weird situation that will further add to the ongoing feud between Sarri, Lazio, the referees, and the League in general. But it should finally lead to Marcos Antonio getting the nod, something that hasn’t happened yet. The final destination for their midfield should be him with Milinkovic-Savic and Luis Alberto, but the gaffer probably doesn’t trust it from the work rate standpoint yet. But the Spaniard can be left out amid natural rotation Sunday.