Serie A can be accused of anything but being dull this season as the top of the table is looking as congested as some of Italy’s busiest cities.
For example, AS Roma may be sitting sixth in the Serie A table at the moment, however they are only six points behind second-placed Inter Milan (and with a game in hand against Torino) following their impressive 5-1 victory away to Bologna over the weekend.
Indeed, as things currently stand, it looks incredibly difficult to pick a winner in regards to who might win the competition as there are certainly a number of teams in the running of this particular race.
Although all of Roma’s five goals came in the first half, the goal they conceded drew some talking points that were rather baffling.
Bryan Cristante put the ball in his own net in some rather bizarre fashion, however it is what he said that has landed him in some bother.
The 25-year-old will miss the game against Torino on Thursday as he was handed a one-match suspension for blasphemy after TV cameras picked him up saying an offensive term.
Although the rule would seem incredibly strange or even ludicrous to implement, the Italian FA did exactly that in 2010. They decided they wanted to clamp down on players and coaches using God’s name in vain and made a rule in which those that expressed his name in vain would be banned with for a game.
“The Sports Judge received a formal report from the Federal Prosecutor regarding the conduct of the player Bryan Cristante,” a statement from the Disciplinary Commission said, per Football Italia.
“[Cristante] pronounced a blasphemous expression at the 23rd minute of the first half.
“The relative TV images acquired and examined, with full technical and documentary guarantee; considering that the player in question was clearly framed by the TV footage while uttering a blasphemous expression, identifiable and audible without margins of reasonable doubt.”
Unfortunately, Cristante does not have a leg to stand on as there has been some precedent for a suspension of this type before as well.
Back in 2018, Udinese midfielder Rolando Mandragora was sanctioned with the penalty for an incident, whilst Sassuolo’s Francesco Magnanelli and Parma’s Matteo Scozzarella were also banned for using God’s name in vain in 2019.
As mentioned, the rule can also be applied to managers and Atalanta honcho, Gian Piero Gasperini was victim of it as he was caught shouting “God is a pig!” when things weren’t going his way.
AS Roma will be hoping his absence against Torino on Thursday will not be costly, otherwise many others in the team might want to be careful about what they say and with people in their vicinity.
