So maybe VAR doesn’t get every single little call right. Nor does it turn referees into infallible robots. But we think every soccer fan can get on board with the VAR decision during the Roma-Genoa match on Sunday. The VAR spotted this pathetic Daniele De Rossi slap on Gianluca Lapadula, which resulted in both players rolling around on the ground like they had just been shot.
After a review, the referee brandished red for De Rossi. Lapadula miraculously recovered from his injuries and scored the ensuing penalty to equalize and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Who slaps an opponent during the run of play? Slaps are not meant cause great physical harm or to stop someone from doing something; they’re meant to debase, demean and degrade someone. If De Rossi wanted to keep Lapadula from getting away from him and reaching the corner kick, he should have tripped or punched, not slapped.
It’s not exactly a rookie mistake either. De Rossi, 34, has played nearly 600 times for Roma and more than 100 with Italy. It was his ninth career red card, nearly in Vinnie Jones territory.
De Rossi’s stupidity during this five-second period reaches incomprehensible levels. For starters, there is no reason to tug on Lapadula’s shirt before the corner kick comes in. Sticking with his man would have been much more effective and with no risk of committing a foul when the ball is unlikely to land near them. Second, slapping a player is downright silly, as discussed above. Finally, after he commits the foul he tries to pretend he was the one who was fouled.
De Rossi might have gotten away with this sort of idiocy last year, but Serie A instituted VAR for this season and the replay doesn’t lie.
Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco was not pleased with the inane De Rossi slap.
“It’s a shame; Daniele (De Rossi) knows he made a mistake — with the technology we have nowadays, you don’t get away with that kind of thing," Di Francesco said on Roma’s website.
“Daniele is not a youngster and he knows that. He’s able to take responsibility.”
Daniele De Rossi sees red. Photo: @SPORTSCIRCUSINT | Twitter
The draw was a vital point for Genoa, which pulled itself out of the relegation zone on goal differential. Roma maintained its position in the top four, but fell seven points behind league-leading Napoli.
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