Roma's Bryan Cristante Hit With Ban For Making ‘Blasphemous Expressions’ Following An Own Goal

Roma were leading 3-0 in Bologna when Cristante accidentally knocked a harmless Musa Barrow attempt into his net.

He was subsequently caught on camera voicing his frustrations.

Since 2010, there has been a strict ban on players heard taking God's name in vain in Italy.

Therefore, the Italian football association have now disciplined Cristante.

Roma eventually won 5-1, but Cristante will miss this week's match at home to Torino.

"The Sports Judge received a formal report from the Federal Prosecutor regarding the conduct of the player Bryan Cristante," a statement said.

"[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."

Sassuolo's Francesco Magnanelli and Parma's Matteo Scozzarella were given one-match bans for blasphemy during Serie A matches in October 2019.

A year before, in September 2018, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini was banned after been caught on camera mouthing the phrase 'God is a pig'.

The previous month, Udinese midfielder Rolando Mandragora was also banned for the offence in 2018 after referring to God as a 'dog'.

Victory for Roma over the weekend has seen them climb up to sixth in Serie A.

"I should've been on 113 today! I scored a goal and that makes me happy, but I'm especially pleased with the team's performance today. It's always difficult to play here. I missed a couple of chances but I'm starting to feel better after my battle with COVID."

He continued, "Our goal is to finish in the top four. It's not going to be easy, we know that, but we haven't qualified for the Champions League in two years and that's a huge disappointment for this club. The players and these supporters deserve it."

"We'll take things one match a time. After today, we'll forget about this game and focus on Torino."