Lucca penalty gets even more controversial: ‘It’s criminal’

Originally posted on Football Italia | By Lorenzo Bettoni | Last updated Feb 22, 2025 8:37 AM ET

Lorenzo Lucca made headlines on Friday when he was subbed off after converting a penalty kick for Udinese , but Lecce coach Marco Giampaolo believed it was ‘criminal’ even to award the spot-kick to the Bianconeri.

Italy international Lucca ignored the Udinese penalty kick hierarchy on Friday during an away game against Lecce and had a tough confrontation with his teammates on the pitch. The striker was subbed off after converting the penalty kick in the first half.

Udinese were unimpressed by Lucca’s attitude, but Lecce coach Giampaolo felt the same about the penalty call.

“I’ve watched it several times, and that is never a penalty,” he told DAZN via Gazzetta.

“I don’t understand why VAR called the referee to review it. What for? Jean is in motion; you can’t give penalties like that, it’s absurd. We’re not even talking about soft penalties, this is absolutely nothing.”

Jean hit Udinese midfielder Lovric with his arm while trying to win the ball inside the box. Initially, the referee didn’t award a spot-kick but changed his mind after a VAR review.

“What is this, come on? This is criminal,” continued Giampaolo.

“The incident was decisive for the match’s outcome, but these are not penalties. This is nothing. Guida, a referee, handled VAR, but you can’t call for a review on something like that.”

This article first appeared on Football Italia and was syndicated with permission.

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