Is Roma at a Disadvantage in Europa League Semifinals | OneFootball

Roma is alleging that Bayer Leverkusen will gain an unfair advantage in their Europa League semi-final match. Serie A has ruled that Roma will resume playing the final 18 minutes of their postponed match against Udinese on April 25, giving the Italian side an extra match day in the lead up to the first leg of the semifinals on May 2.

After Roma defender Evan Ndicka experienced a second-half collapse, the match against Udinese on April 14 was halted, prompting Serie A to postpone the remainder of the match. That has forced both teams to reconvene in Udine on April 25 to complete their encounter from the previous weekend. This step is necessary as per regulations, requiring interrupted matches to be finalized within 15 days of their interruption.

However, this has added another wrinkle to Roma’s already packed list of fixtures. The club’s schedule is made even busier by reaching the semifinals of the Europa League. Therefore, Roma would prefer to have the resumption of the match with Udinese pushed back until after they complete their two legs against Bayer Leverkusen on May 2 and May 9.

“AS Roma with its results and four consecutive European semi-finals contributed to UEFA ranking and thus five slots for Italian teams in the next edition of the Champions League,” the club said in a statement. “Despite that, [Serie A] President [Lorenzo] Casini took today an unfair decision, as it holds, against AS Roma forcing us to face Bayer 04 Leverkusen at disadvantage. This is a clear backwards step for the whole of Italian football.”

Daniele De Rossi’s team expressed their determination to address what they perceived as an “unjustified hardship.” However, they failed to articulate their plan for addressing it. Currently occupying the fifth position in Serie A, the capital’s team holds the only Champions League spot allocated to clubs in that category. Nevertheless, they are in contention for a place in Europe’s top club tournament with both Bologna, Atalanta, and Lazio, among others.

Naturally, this is a busy time of year for all teams, not just Roma. This is also a busy time of year for fans betting on soccer. There are many prominent sportsbooks that offer betting markets on leagues throughout the world.

The Udinese vs. Roma match will recommence from the 72nd minute when it resumes, following Serie A’s unique regulations. Unlike many other major European leagues, Serie A has distinct rules about such situations. In Italy’s top league, play must resume from the exact minute the match was suspended with unchanged starting lineups and no re-entry for substituted players.

Consequently, Roma will be without Dean Huijsen and Houssem Aouar for the remainder of the match, as both were replaced by Paulo Dybala and Rick Karsdorp at the 53-minute mark. Udinese faces similar constraints, as Kingsley Ehizibue and Hassane Kamara can’t continue playing per regulations. Joao Ferreira and Jordan Zemura replaced them as substitutes in the second half. Additionally, all yellow cards remain valid, posing caution for Roma’s coach, Tommaso Baldanzi, and for Udinese’s Kamara, Martin Payero, and Jaka Bijol.

More importantly, the extra travel and match-day preparations will deprive Roma of valuable rest a week before the first leg of the Europa League semifinals. Bayer Leverkusen, on the other hand, doesn’t have an extra midweek match to play. In fact, they have already clinched the Bundesliga title this season, allowing the German side to rest more key players ahead of next week’s match with Roma. That will surely be a hit to Roma’s chances of beating Leverkusen in the Europa League semifinals for the second straight season.