BEVERLY HILLS, January 20, (THEWILL) – Serie A side AS Roma found themselves in double jeopardy on Tuesday as they bundled their appearance in a Cup competition in unbelievable circumstances. In their Coppa Italia loss to Spezia, a substitutions mix-up saw them infringe on the rules with a sixth change when the rules allow only five.
Although, Roma coach Paulo Fonseca was quick to claim not being aware of the mix-up, the sixth sub came in extra time at the Olympic Stadium of their last-16 match of the competition when Fonseca introduced defender Ibanez for former Chelsea winger Pedro, after the fifth sub had already been made.
It was a forgettable tie for Roma who were well beaten to a 4-2 extra time score line and had two red cards in the space of two minutes to underscore the indiscipline apparent from Fonseca’s charges on the night.
In his post-match comments, Fonseca spoke about the sixth substitution by exonerating himself and deciding not to speak much of how it will be handled in public: “If there was a problem, that I honestly didn’t know about, we’ll discuss it internally.”
Roma will have to figure out how errors like this happen and quickly too. Earlier in the season, they were handed a 3-0 defeat against Hellas Verona in Serie A for fielding an ineligible player. The rules against these infringements will continue to count against their efforts and make mockery of their chances should these infractions continue.
This is especially so for their Portuguese coach Fonseca. He is under mounting pressure to get results and the loss to Spezia did not do his chances any favours. He was appointed in 2019, and knows very much what is expected of him from the club and their fans.
“My future has been up for discussion ever since I got here. I am encouraged by the position we have in the league right now. It’s where we want to be and I have confidence in my team. But when we don’t win I am always being discussed. I have to stay focused on my job.”
Although Roma had a good spell at the beginning of the year, they are now winless in three matches across all competitions and have conceded nine goals in that time. But, in a tougher than most season, in this campaign, they have kept themselves in fourth place on the Serie A standings, and are only nine points behind league leaders AC Milan after 18 games played.
With more internal attention to details such as eligible players to field and number of substitutions to introduce, they can save themselves the embarrassments of losing points due to breaking rules rather than losing on the field of play, and with inspirational performances like Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s, they can keep up their top four spot and even go higher.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
