Salernitana coach Fabio Liverani revealed during his post match media duties that striker Boulaye Dia refused to come on during the closing stages of his team’s 1-1 draw with Udinese in Serie A on Saturday afternoon.
The Granata had led early on away in Udine thanks to a 10th minute strike from Loum Tchaouna, but the hosts struck back through Hassane Kamara in first half injury time and were able to hold out for a point despite being reduced to 10 men after Festy Ebosele’s red card in the 64th minute.
Dia, who has had a stop-start season for Salernitana due to a series of niggling injuries, was left as an unused substitute against Udinese.
With his four goals from 17 Serie A appearances this term, Dia is still Salernitana’s second highest goalscorer in the league in 2023-24.
He had appeared in four consecutive Serie A matches, the last two coming off the bench, but on this occasion, he refused to come on as the game entered its final exchanges.
Speaking to DAZN after full-time, Liverani said: “Dia decided not to come on at the end.
“He made a choice that we will have to take into consideration from today onwards. There were seven or eight minutes left, I think it was a definitive choice.”
Liverani continued: “I respect his decision. I’ll take note of it moving forwards.”
When asked if Dia would be removed from the squad , Liverani responded: “Maybe those aren’t the right words. The club will decide. But I now know he’s a player I can’t count on.”
#SerieA | @OfficialUSS1919, #Liverani: "#Dia si è rifiutato di entrare in campo a 7 minuti dalla fine. Non posso fare affidamento su di lui" 🎙🟤👉https://t.co/sJHAQ4raev pic.twitter.com/5hrrJhgKI7
— Gianluca Di Marzio (@DiMarzio) March 2, 2024