Lazio president Claudio Lotito doubles down on statement diminishing Ndicka health scare | OneFootball

Lazio President Claudio Lotito was recently the subject of a major controversy.

The Biancocelesti chairman had expressed disappointment at the way Evan Ndicka’s health scare during Udinese-Roma had been handled, leading to a suspension of the match.

In the aftermath of the incident, as Ndicka was diagnosed with a collapsed lung, messages of support poured-in from hundreds of clubs and players across Europe—many expressing worry about the seriousness of the injury and applauding the decision to suspend the game.

Despite this, Lotito dismissed the severity of the situation and criticised Roma for complaining about the league’s decision to replay the final 20 minutes on April 25th—impacting their preparations for the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Earlier today, Lotito did not apologize for his words and doubled down on his initial statement.

“I repeat, I did not attack Roma on the Ndicka case, I only explained the rule to those who asked me. [Serie A] President Casini was very kind because he had the power to make the decision autonomously and instead he left it to the Council which said it would abide by the statute.”

“The match against Udinese should not have been suspended with a confirmed yellow code, it has never happened in the history of football. The match could have been restarted the same evening, or the following evening after checks, as there were only 18 minutes left to play,” he told Il Messaggero.