Roma director general Mauro Baldissoni has reacted with fury after the club was fined and Rudi Garcia received a two match ban.
The Giallorossi Coach was given a two-match ban by the League for a scuffle involving a steward after Sunday’s win at Genoa, while Roma were fined €20,000 for failing to comply with the Lega Serie A’s investigation.
Roma director general Mauro Baldissoni has reacted with fury after the club was fined and Rudi Garcia received a two match ban.
The Giallorossi Coach was given a two-match ban by the League for a scuffle involving a steward after Sunday’s win at Genoa, while Roma were fined €20,000 for failing to comply with the Lega Serie A’s investigation.
Genoa received a fine of €30,000 for the actions of Grifone fans, and Baldissoni is apoplectic at what he sees as unfair sanctions.
“We’re very surprised, unfortunately it’s not the first time the sports justice people have done this,” Baldissoni blasted in an interview with Roma TV.
“We’re tired of the lawmakers doing this, they move the grounds for action further and further when Roma are involved.
“It seems our Coach has been disqualified on the basis of a statement made spontaneously by a Genoa steward, without the alleged actions being seen by match officials or federal prosecutors.
“At the end of the game, there was a hail of objects thrown from the stands at the players and officials, for a couple of minutes they weren’t able to get to the dressing room, their safety was at risk.
“The tunnel needed to be extended, so they’d have a covered walkway, but Genoa’s stewards weren’t able to provide that protection.
“A fine for Roma amazed us. Genoa got a fine of €30,000 for objects being launched, and that’s without even talking about their failure to protect the players.
“Roma have been given a fine of €20,000 for failing to hand over players’ ID cards to allow stewards to identify them.
“If the prosecutor asks for the cards to identify one of our club members, then of course we’re happy to help.
“But if they’re required to help a steward identify someone, we obviously don’t think we need to co-operate.
“If you look at what happened, we were the victim of aggression by the fans, and were left with no help from Genoa because our path off the pitch remained uncovered.
“We received an equal fine because a steward reported a non-existent incident, it’s grotesque.
“Rudi Garcia has announced his intention to take legal action against this steward, and the club is considering it too.
“We already spoke about an unpleasant feeling last year. We chose to act with positivity and collaboration in response, which we think is the best way.
“But if they think it’s necessary to use the hammer, then we’ll use the hammer too.”