Ref relegates Lazio to Conference League

Simon Basten

Nov 3, 2022

4 min read

Updated: Oct 21

2022-23 Season

Europa League Group Stage

Group F, Game 6

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Previous Match

Rotterdam, De Kuip Stadium

Feyenoord Lazio 1-0

A controversial decision by the referee condemns Lazio to play in a Conference League playoff.

The teams

Maurizio Sarri opted for his usual turnover and in came Patric, back from injury, Elsaid Hysaj, Toma Basic, Marcos Antonio and Matteo Cancellieri. Sarri was unhappy with the fact that the Dutch Football Federation allowed Feyenoord to rest over the weekend. Certainly an unfair advantage that should have been stopped by UEFA.

Lazio came into the match top of Group F. One point was enough to qualify, three points would obviously have been better to avoid a playoff against a third place team from the Champions League groups.

The match

Feyenoord immediately had a chance in the 2nd minute when a Patric fumble gave Danilo the possibility to shoot just inside the box but his attempt went wide. A minute later another fumble, this time by David Hancko, gave Felipe Anderson the chance to race unmarked towards the goal. His shot was miraculously saved by Justin Bilijow who sent the ball onto the crossbar.

The game was in the balance but it looked as if Lazio had more control. In the 21st minute, Felipe Anderson stole the ball from Hancko on the left and again had a long corridor towards the Dutch goal. Once he was inside the box, he passed the ball to Cancellieri who did not shoot immediately. The youngster stopped the ball with his right foot and prepared the shot for his left. Just wide. A minute later, Felipe Anderson on the right to Sergej Milinkovic-Savic, wonderful assist for Manuel Lazzari who stopped and shot but Bilijow was perfectly placed. In the 25th minute a shot from outside the box by Igor Paixao was well saved by Ivan Provedel.

Nothing much else happened in the first half. Lazio were controlling the game rather comfortably and it was a pity they had not managed to score.

Second half

Two substitutions during the interval: Adam Marusic for Lazzari and Quilindschy Hartman for Marcos Lopez.

Lazio had another chance in the 55th minute, again with Felipe Anderson and very similar to the earlier one. He flew past the Feyenoord defence and on the left, inside the penalty box, waited just a little too long to shoot, so when he did the goalkeeper saved.

Two more substitutions in the 63rd minute: in came Pedro for Mattia Zaccagni and Santiago Gimenez for Danilo. It would take the Mexican just a minute to score.

Cancellieri lost the ball on the right (Sarri would complain that according to him it was foul), Hartman saw Gimenez in the middle between Patric and Marusic so ball to him. The Mexican, once inside the box, tried to control it with his thigh but the ball slipped away from him towards Provedel who was coming out to claim it. In the race towards the ball Gimenez pushed Patric onto the Lazio goalkeeper who then lost the ball, Gimenez avoided Marusic’s last desperate attempt and scored.

That was a foul. But not according to the ref and after a long VAR review the goal was given. Another controversial decision by the referees in Europe against Lazio. That meant that the Biancocelesti were then third. They needed to score if they wanted to stay in the Europa League.

Lazio replaced Marcos Antonio and Basic with Danilo Cataldi and Matias Vecino. Feyenoord insisted and Orkun Kokcu hit the woodwork with a great shot from outside the box in the 72nd minute.

Lazio were increasingly nervous and the referee did not help especially when Pedro was brought down in the box in the 77th minute. Peljto booked the Spaniard for diving but it actually looked like a penalty. Sarri too was booked for complaining that plastic cups full of beer (or worse) were being thrown at the Lazio bench from the stands. Cancellieri got a yellow card for protesting too much and Sarri substituted him with Luka Romero.

Lazio just could not find the opening and the players got more and more frustrated as the clock ticked away. Romero was booked twice and sent off in the dying seconds. The ref blew up despite the fact that in the last ten minutes they couldn't have effectively played more than a couple.

What now for Group F?

All teams were tied with 8 points so all verdicts were based on goal difference.

With this win Feyenoord were top and went to the round of 16 in Europa Cup. Midtjylland, who beat Sturm Graz, were second and accessed the playoff against one of the third placed teams from the Champions League Groups. Lazio were relegated to the Conference League and would compete in a playoff, against a second placed group stage Conference League team, to reach the round of 16.

Brief analysis

Lazio’s European campaign was not good and seriously influenced by the heavy defeat in Denmark which complicated everything. But, the referee’s decision to send off Lazzari in the home game against Sturm Graz and tonight’s not to disallow the Feyenoord goal, were the main factors in Lazio’s descent to the European third tier.

Who played for Feyenoord

Bijlow, Geertruida, Trauner, Hancko, Lopez (46' Hartman); Q. Timber (90'+2' Wieffer), Szymanski, Kokcu; Dilrosun, Danilo Pereira (63' Gimenez), Paixao (72' Walemark)

Substitutes: Marciano, Wellenreuther, Pedersen, Bjorkan, Rasmussen, Jahanbakhsh, Benita, Bullaud

Manager: Slot

Who played for Lazio

Provedel, Lazzari (46' Marusic), Casale, Patric, Hysaj, Milinkovic-Savic, Marcos Antonio (67' Cataldi), Basic (67' Vecino); Cancellieri (81' Romero), Felipe Anderson, Zaccagni (63' Pedro)