Roma stuttered on their trip to Stadio Brianteo on Sunday evening, throwing away a second-half lead against Monza. Alessandro Nesta’s underachievers held the Giallorossi to a 1-1 draw under controversial circumstances.
Artem Dovbyk extended his scoring spree with another well-taken goal to break the deadlock midway through the second half. However, Roma failed to defend their slender lead as Dany Mota pegged them back nine minutes later, ending Ivan Juric’s perfect Serie A start at the Olimpico.
Roma had several decent chances to regain the lead. Manu Kone came closest to scoring, only to see his curling effort from inside the box fly a whisker wide of the far post. A drama was yet to come.
With the game approaching its climax, Giorgos Kyriakopoulos and Tommaso Baldanzi had a nasty collision in the penalty area. The entire Roma bench immediately exploded into loud protests, urging referee Federico La Penna to point to the spot.
But their appeals fell on the match official’s deaf ear, with no reaction coming from the VAR room either. Unwilling to reconcile with the referee’s decision, Roma director Florent Ghisolfi fumed at La Penna and his colleagues after the match.
“I am not accustomed to talking about the referee, but everyone saw it, and it’s unacceptable. It was a clear penalty,” he told Sky Sport Italia, as relayed by ForzaRoma.info. “Okay, the referee was far away, but why didn’t VAR intervene? It’s a penalty, and you all saw that.
“I demand respect for Roma, the players’ efforts, and those of the coach and the fans. There was frustration in the dressing room. We want respect, it’s not acceptable.“
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