Fiorentina and Dusan Vlahovic’s contract renewal saga seems to be never-ending as the Serbian talent took his frustrations out on the pitch at Stadio Artmeio Franchi by rejecting Giacomo Bonaventura’s offer to take a penalty after a referee Antonio Rapuano’s decision to play on from Keita Balde Diao’s handball was overturned by VAR.
Fullback Cristiano Birgahi instead stepped up to draw first blood, before Nicolas Gonzalez and Vlahovic himself from a sublime freekick, added two more to gift a 3-0 victory over Cagliari.
As reported by DAZN (via Viola News), he was whistled and jeered during the team’s pre-match warm up session and that may have affected his decision to deny taking the penalty.
Episodio destinato a far discutere. #Vlahovic rifiuta di calciare il rigorehttps://t.co/elxRgJllvS
— Violanews Fiorentina (@violanews) October 24, 2021
However, he didn’t have to wait for long to provide his critics wrong as he bagged a fantastic overhead pre-assist to Riccardo Saponara to set up the second goal, before scoring just after half-time via a world-class freekick from 25 yards out.
The 22-year-old is yet to renew his contract with La Viola as he continues to garner attention from some of the world’s top clubs including Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Liverpool.