Short but intense, the second part of the match between Udinese and Rome. Beyond the success achieved by the Giallorossi, this brief recovery of a small part of the match generated a lot of confusion. We saw replaced players set foot on the pitch again, the Giallorossi even performing 8 substitutions over the course of a total of 90 minutes – although spread over two different days – and the Bianconeri return with a different coach than the one who started the match. In short, it felt like we had ended up in the Dark TV series.
The match suspended due to N’Dicka’s illness
Let’s first remember the reason why the match was suspended. Last April 14th Evan N’Dicka he fell ill on the pitch and was rushed to hospital under yellow code. The Roma players, legitimately, did not feel like playing again and therefore the match was postponed. Not everyone welcomed this decision, with Lazio owner Claudio Lotito not considering this a valid reason to further clog up the calendar and the piqued reply of Daniele De Rossi.
According to the rules, everything is correct
But who could take the field for the second part of the match? The regulation is clear: not the players replaced. As Fabio Cannavaro – who only a few days earlier had taken Cioffi’s place on the bench – had to do without Ehizibue and Kamara effectively fielding the same formation that had closed the match on that April 14th. The one who changed a lot, however, was De Rossi with 5 new players that some mistakenly interpreted as replacements. Yet everything the Giallorossi coach did from a regulatory point of view is correct.
In fact, in the continuation of the match, all the players who were already registered for the two Associated Clubs at the time of the interruption can be fielded, regardless of whether or not they were on the match director’s list on the day of the interruption, with the following Warnings:
- Players who take to the field and are replaced during the first match cannot be fielded again
- Players sent off during the first match cannot be fielded again nor can they be replaced by other players in the continuation.
- The footballers who they were disqualified for the first match and cannot be fielded in the continuation.
- Players disqualified by a decision relating to a match played after the interrupted match may be fielded in the continuation.
- Single warnings given by the match director during the interrupted match are not taken into consideration by the disciplinary bodies until the continuation has also been played.
- During the continuation, the two teams can only make the substitutions not yet made in the first match.
Llorente’s paradox in a completely rewritten story
The paradox was that relating to Diego Llorente who was a starter in the first part of Udinese-Roma and was sent to the bench in the second only to return again in the 88th minute due to a muscle problem suffered by Smalling. The rest was done in 26 minutes which told a completely different story compared to the previous one. With the Giallorossi taking 3 points that who knows, maybe they wouldn’t have won otherwise. The point is, we’ll never know. But it must be accepted like this, the regulation says so.
