Udinese player subbed off after SCORING penalty in one of the ‘craziest series of events’ ever in Serie A
Udinese became the latest Italian club involved in penalty controversy on Friday night, where a player was substituted straight after scoring his spot-kick.
On Tuesday, Ademola Lookman was publicly criticised by manager Gian Piero Gasperini for missing a penalty in the Champions League knockout play-off second leg defeat to Club Brugge.
Lookman had already scored in open play when he grabbed the ball but after Gasperini's strong words, the Nigeria international issued a statement of his own and claimed he was given permission by the designated penalty taker to assume duties.
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Yet somehow, Atalanta have been outdone by their Italian counterparts Udinese in the penalty department.
The Udine outfit, who have Alexis Sanchez in their ranks for a second spell, travelled to Lecce on Friday night and came away with a narrow 1-0 win which moved them just a point behind ninth placed Roma.
Lorenza Lucca scored the only goal of the from the spot in the 32nd minute but was taken off almost immediately after by Kosta Runjaic.
In bizarre and frosty scenes, Lucca took the penalty off captain and taker Florian Thauvin and refused to give the former Newcastle man the ball back.
The entire team were on the side of Thauvin and attempted to get the ball off him, with an angry Jaka Bijol aggressively grabbing his shirt.
⚽️ Udinese’s Lorenzo Lucca refuses to give up the ball to appointed penalty taker (& captain), Florian Thauvin
— Calcio England (@CalcioEngland) February 21, 2025
Lucca scores, celebrates alone…and then is promptly subbed off
That’s going to be a frosty changing room at the end of the game!pic.twitter.com/jJ1jDDThVr
Oumar Solet was also unsuccessful in taking the ball off Lucca and he went on to score his tenth goal of the season in emphatic fashion.
However, nobody celebrated with the 24-year-old and just four minutes later he was substituted for Iker Bravo.
Udinese manager fumes over disrespect
After the game, Runjaic was asked about the Lucca's actions and called it a "unilateral decision". He then defended his call to substitute Lucca because he did not "respect the rules" or his teammates.
He also said they would discuss the situation in the changing rooms, though stressed that the team would still enjoy the vital win.
"We have a clear hierarchy; Thauvin is our first-choice penalty taker," he told DAZN.
"This episode lasted too long. Lucca made a unilateral decision, and I made my decision to take him out. This isn't the first time something like this has happened in football. I believe substituting him was the right call. We will discuss it in the locker room, but winning makes things easier.
"I did this because I dislike players who do not respect the rules or their teammates. No one is more important than the team, but let's not make this a bigger issue than it is. Let's enjoy the victory and stay focused on the next match."
Former Ajax and Palermo forward Lucca is yet to comment on the penalty chaos.
Josh Lawless