Lecce owner blasts ‘diabolical’ VAR after Piccoli’s disallowed goal vs. Milan

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·11 November 2023

Lecce owner blasts ‘diabolical’ VAR after Piccoli’s disallowed goal vs. Milan

Lecce owner Saverio Sticchi Damiani has branded the disallowing of Piccoli’s 93rd-minute goal ‘diabolical’, claiming that the Video Assistant Referee went looking for an issue that wasn’t there.

Milan suffered another big blow to their Scudetto hopes against Lecce on Saturday afternoon as they threw away a commanding 2-0 half-time lead to draw 2-2 at the Stadio Via del Mare.

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The final sting looked like it had come with virtually the last kick of the game when Piccoli brought down a long ball and shot from about 30 yards out. His effort bent away from a wrong-footed Maignan and nestled inside the near post, sparking rapturous scenes, but it was disallowed for a handball.

Saverio Sticchi Damiani, the owner of Lecce, spoke during an interview with DAZN after the game to express his frustration at the VAR intervention.

“The VAR is used in a diabolical way like this. If you use the VAR to find the hair for Lecce you have to do it with the other teams too,” he said (via MilanNews).

“Every every time Lecce scores a goal we will look for a pest, you can always find a pest, you can’t deny it to anyone. I’m talking about the rule: if you want to find a detail, you can find it.

“VAR authorised to ruin football matches with this exasperated use. We play football for passion, not for business. Today’s use of VAR ruins the fairytale of football.”

Lecce owner blasts ‘diabolical’ VAR after Piccoli’s disallowed goal vs. Milan | OneFootball

Lecce owner blasts ‘diabolical’ VAR after Piccoli’s disallowed goal vs. Milan

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