Lazio are refusing to speak to the media in protest at what they claim was poor refereeing in the 2-1 defeat to Bologna, as Maurizio Sarri had already criticised the Lega Serie A for ‘ambushing’ them.
According to Sky Sport Italia, Lazio are not sending anyone to the media duties out of protest at the officiating of Fabio Maresca.
There only seemed to be one real controversial incident, when Lewis Ferguson elbowed Danilo Cataldi in the ribs as the Lazio midfielder was leaping to head the ball.
That was outside the penalty area, so VAR could not intervene.
The coach was furious before kick-off, accusing the Lega Serie A of “ambushing” them with an early Sunday kick-off when they played Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
We sincerely thank the Lega for another ambush, as yet again we have to play at lunchtime just a couple of days after the Champions League with Bayern Munich…” Sarri had told Sky Sport Italia.
“At this moment, we do not have many options to rotate the squad, so we must grit our teeth and keep going like this, without alibis.”
The fitness situation got even worse when Gil Patric, who had his first start since dislocating a shoulder on January 14, limped off in the opening 20 minutes.
However, Bologna also played on Wednesday, beating Fiorentina 2-0 in a rescheduled Serie A fixture, and they seemed sharper throughout the match.
Gustav Isaksen pounced on an early Jhon Lucumi error to give Lazio the lead, but Oussama El Azzouzi made the most of an error playing out from the back and Joshua Zirkzee turned it around for the 2-1 result.
Lazio in silenzio stampa. Non è piaciuta la direzione arbitrale di Fabio Maresca https://t.co/6dYFkuERvk
— TUTTOmercatoWEB (@TuttoMercatoWeb) February 18, 2024