Atalanta director Luca Percassi has voiced his strong objections to what he described as “two unjustifiable refereeing errors” following their Coppa Italia semi-final elimination by Lazio. The Italian club was defeated on penalties after a 2-2 draw in the second leg, having fought back twice in the initial match.
The team expressed frustration in Bergamo after a hard-fought 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico. Atalanta had two goals controversially disallowed by VAR: one for a disputed foul by Nikola Krstovic on Edoardo Motta, and another for an offside call against Davide Zappacosta.
Mario Pasalic quickly equalized Alessio Romagnoli’s opener, but with neither side able to break the deadlock even after extra time, the match proceeded to a penalty shootout. Lazio goalkeeper Edoardo Motta remarkably saved four consecutive penalties to secure victory for Lazio and a place in the Coppa Italia Final against Inter on May 13.
Following the match, coach Raffaele Palladino did not attend the media room. Instead, sporting director Percassi represented the club, stating: “When faced with a very good performance from the team, there is an evident error on the goal disallowed for Ederson. There was more than one error from the referee, and that is a real pity, because a fully deserved qualification was thrown away by a key incident that inevitably had a big impact on the game.”
The disallowed goal involved a sequence where Mario Gila’s clearance struck his own knee before hitting his outstretched arm, and then Krstovic dispossessed Motta of the ball before Ederson tapped it into the net. Percassi elaborated, “It is not all down to that incident, but it is not the first time it has happened to us against Lazio. We still have an open wound losing the Final to them in 2019, and when faced with a very important game, we were penalised in incredible fashion.”
“An error of this kind is not justifiable when there is so much at stake, and we have so many instruments at the disposal of the referees. It leaves a really bitter taste in the mouth to see this happen.”
When questioned about whether the protest was more about the handball incident or the foul on the goalkeeper, Percassi responded: “I’d say both. People talk about kicking it onto your arm, but if he hadn’t got it with his knee, then it would’ve hit his arm anyway. As for Krstovic, the images are very clear that he anticipates the goalkeeper, and it is truly incomprehensible that a referee can make an error of this kind. I have not spoken to the referee, but it would be difficult for him to justify two such obvious errors in the same move.”
Interestingly, a similar situation occurred shortly after when Lazio appealed for a handball against Giorgio Scalvini, who also kicked the ball onto his arm, but the appeal was not upheld in the same manner.
