Lazio President Claudio Lotito hit back at Jose Mourinho and Roma complaints, pointing out the winning penalty in the Coppa Italia quarter-final was ‘clear and irrefutable.’
This fixture came in the same week that the club celebrated the 124th anniversary of its foundation and they celebrated it by beating their local rivals 1-0 with Mattia Zaccagni converting from the spot.
It was awarded following a VAR review when Dean Huijsen was late to the clearance and caught Taty Castellanos on the back of the ankle.
This penalty was criticised by Mourinho as being “suited to modern football,” but refereeing expert Graziano Cesari in the Mediaset studio assured this type of contact will “always” be a penalty.
“We fully deserved the victory,” President Lotito told Mediaset.
“The referee awarded the penalty, which seen on the VAR was an evident foul. The penalty is clear and irrefutable. The team played better overall, played real football and brought home the result.”
The Biancocelesti had already showed improvement in Serie A recently with three wins in a row, so this is another boost that sends them into the two-legged Coppa Italia semi-final.
They are also preparing for the Supercoppa Italiana Final Four, which will be played in Saudi Arabia later this month.
“What changed is the awareness of our capabilities. There had to be a period of adaptation for the new players and today we saw the team won rather than individuals. Lazio are a solid, determined and united group. What a football team ought to be.
“We deservedly won and have players with a lot of promise, so we want to give a sense of consistency to the project. Today I tried to let everyone know that we win together and lose together, not just the players, but also the fans, medical staff, kit staff and anyone else who participates in this project.
“We are glad to have celebrated Lazio’s birthday. I ordered the doors opened to the training ground yesterday so the fans could be there and we hope to continue with this attitude.”
#Lazio, #Lotito: 'Vittoria meritata, abbiamo ritrovato i tifosi. Rigore è quando arbitro fischia…' https://t.co/WFfkClUk8U
— calciomercato.com (@cmdotcom) January 10, 2024