July 23 – Roma’s American billionaire owner James Pallotta has been handed a three-month suspension by UEFA for comments after their Champions League semi-final defeat by Liverpool.
The club has also been fined €19,000 over insufficient organisation and a blocked stairway, and for fans setting off fireworks.
Pallotta criticised the standard of refereeing in the second leg in Rome on May 2. Roma won 4-2 but lost 7-6 on aggregate as Liverpool progressed to the final in Kiev.
He called the officiating “an absolute joke”, claimed it cost his club a place in the final and also claimed a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) would have helped overturn calls he perceived went in Liverpool’s favour.
The suspension, handed out by UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body, means that he cannot enter the technical area or communicate directly or indirectly with the team’s players and or/technical staff during a UEFA competition match for three months including entering the team’s dressing room or the tunnel before or during a match.
Roma finished third in Serie A last season and will enter the Champions League at the group stage. The suspension will start in their first game on either September 18 or 19 but the club is expected to appeal.
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