Roma president Jim Pallotta believes it will be an ‘absolute joke’ if the Video Assistant Referee is not introduced into the Champions League.
The Serie A side lost their semi-final 7-6 on aggregate to Liverpool but there were a number of incidents Pallotta was unhappy with in the game, including a handball by Trent Alexander-Arnold which was not given.
‘It is very clear VAR is needed in the Champions League because you just can’t let stuff like this happen,’ he said.
Roma were denied a spot kick when Loris Karius brought down Edin Dzeko earlier in the game
‘You can all look at it yourself. (Stephan) El Shaarawy in the 49th minute wasn’t offside and he gets taken down by the goalie; the 63rd minute was a handball that was obvious to everyone probably in the world except people on the pitch; the 67th minute Schick gets taken down in the box.
‘I know it is difficult to ref but it is really embarrassing that we lose on aggregate like that.
‘By the way, it should have been a red card which would have been 10 men in the 63rd minute.
‘Liverpool are a great team, congratulations going forward, but if they don’t get VAR in the Champions League stuff like this is an absolute joke.’
Roma were also denied a clear penalty when the ball struck Trent Alexander-Arnold’s arm
Roma sporting director Monchi also got involved in the debate, by saying that he felt ‘Italian football has to raise its voice, because this is not normal’.
He added: ‘It changes everything. We conceded a goal that was offside in the first leg, here we had two penalties not given, one of which was a clear red card.
‘It’s time to raise our voices, not just Roma either, as Juventus suffered the same against Real Madrid. Italian football has to raise its voice, because what we saw tonight was shocking.
‘It’s playing with the hearts of all the fans. We have to compliment Liverpool for their qualification, but also need to evaluate how it happened.’
Roma president Jim Pallotta said it is an ‘absolute joke’ VAR isn’t in the Champions League
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