As Lazio restarted their Serie A season at Stadio Olimpico against Cagliari on the weekend, an emotional moment transpired on field, thanks to a heartwarming gesture by the club’s ultras in the Curva Nord section.
Thomas Strakosha, the Albanian shotstopper was on the receiving end of a banner that forgave him for his astonishing howler against Galatasaray in the Europa League. The goalkeeper scored the game’s only goal in a 1-0 defeat at the Turk Telekom Arena.
As far as goalkeeper errors go, that's got to be up there… ??
Thomas Strakosha has had an absolute nightmare ? pic.twitter.com/sniIIpzvA5
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 16, 2021
On the back of a failed clearance, the ball emerged right above the bar and looked as if it were to go in, only for the 26-year-old to force it in and gift three points to the Turkish giants in the group opener.
Nevertheless, it looks like Lazio faithful have already let go of the incident.
Respect to Lazio fans for this banner for Strakosha.
Something we should had done for Szczesny aswell… pic.twitter.com/GXcRR5znyH— Jjuli (@jjuli_24) September 19, 2021
A banner unfurled right before kick-off – quoting Dante Alighieri’s early 14th century poem Divine Comedy, saying: “Don’t care about them, just look and go on.”
The goalkeeper, who was left out by Maurizio Sarri on the bench, saw the gesture during the pre-match warm up and was immediately touched by the reaction of the fans.
Reports have emerged that the long-time Lazio goalkeeper’s relationship with the club is already fractured and it remains to be seen how Sarri and the management play out his presence at the club, especially after the own goal.