Coach Marco Baroni Criticizes Refereeing Decisions in Stadio Franchi Draw

In a recent football match held at the Stadio Franchi, coach Marco Baroni expressed frustration over two penalty decisions that he believes influenced the outcome of the game. Baroni stated, “These situations are contrary to the spirit of football, you can’t even try to block a cross now.”

The match saw Mario Gila putting the Aquile in the lead with a header from a Nuno Tavares corner. However, the game dynamics changed in the second half when Albert Gudmundsson came off the bench, making a significant impact. Gudmundsson earned a penalty after drawing a foul from Matteo Guendouzi, followed by Tavares catching Dodo at the by-line, which led to the decisive penalty.

After the match, Baroni commented on the nature of the penalties, which he attributed to the “step on foot” rule, a controversial aspect of current football refereeing. “I have been involved in over 1,000 games and I can say these situations are contrary to the spirit of football,” Baroni remarked. “A player cannot even try to block a cross now without risking a penalty. It’s so sad to see incidents like this.”

Baroni also emphasized the challenge facing coaches under these circumstances, stating, “If this is the direction that refereeing is going in, then it becomes difficult for us to tell our players how to approach defending.” The VAR On-Field Review verified the contentious foul by Tavares in the final moments of the game.

On the performance front, Lazio had opportunities to secure a victory, but strong goalkeeping from David De Gea prevented them from capitalizing on their chances. One notable opportunity saw Moise Kean miss a free header.

Baroni concluded by asserting that the penalties were a disadvantage to his team’s efforts. “The team does play and create opportunities, clearly we need to have more bodies in the box to attack the goal. I feel those penalty incidents damaged us more than we would’ve deserved for the performance,” he said.