Atalanta’s director, Luca Percassi, has voiced strong dissatisfaction, labeling “two unjustifiable refereeing errors” as the cause for their Coppa Italia semi-final exit against Lazio, decided by a penalty shootout. La Dea felt aggrieved in Bergamo after twice coming from behind to secure a 2-2 draw in the first leg at the Stadio Olimpico.
The team saw two goals disallowed by VAR. The first was chalked off for a contentious foul by Nikola Krstovic on Edoardo Motta, and the second was ruled out for Davide Zappacosta being offside.
Despite Mario Pasalic quickly equalizing Alessio Romagnoli’s opening goal, the match remained deadlocked after extra time, leading to a penalty shootout. Lazio emerged victorious after their goalkeeper, Motta, saved four consecutive spot-kicks, securing their place in the Coppa Italia Final against Inter on May 13.
Atalanta’s Grievances Regarding Refereeing
Following the match, coach Raffaele Palladino did not attend the media room. Instead, sporting director Percassi represented the club’s protest.
“Given the team’s very strong performance, there was a clear error on the disallowed goal for Ederson,” Percassi stated to Sport Mediaset. “There was more than one error from the referee, which is a real shame, as a fully deserved qualification was lost due to a key incident that inevitably had a significant impact on the game.”
The disallowed goal sequence involved Mario Gila’s handball and a subsequent challenge by Krstovic on goalkeeper Motta. Percassi elaborated, “It’s not entirely down to that incident, but it’s not the first time this has happened to us against Lazio. We still have an open wound from losing the Final to them in 2019, and in such a crucial game, we were incredibly penalized.”
“An error of this magnitude is inexcusable when so much is at stake, and with all the tools available to referees. It leaves a very bitter taste to witness this,” he added.
When asked if the protest was primarily about the handball or the foul on the goalkeeper, Percassi replied, “I’d say both. People talk about the ball hitting the arm, but if it hadn’t hit his knee, it would have hit his arm anyway. As for Krstovic, the replays clearly show he anticipated the goalkeeper, and it’s truly incomprehensible that a referee can make such an error.”
“I haven’t spoken to the referee, but it would be difficult for him to justify two such obvious errors in the same play,” concluded Percassi.
Shortly after, a similar situation arose when Lazio appealed for a handball against Giorgio Scalvini. He also kicked the ball onto his own arm, but the incident was treated differently by the officials.