Udinese striker Lorenzo Lucca sparked controversy during Friday’s Serie A match against Lecce by taking a penalty kick despite being told not to.
The penalty had been assigned to Florian Thauvin, but Lucca ignored the instructions and took the spot-kick himself.
His teammates tried to stop him, but Lucca went ahead and scored in the 32nd minute, converting past Lecce goalkeeper Wladimiro Falcone.
However, none of his teammates celebrated the goal with him.
Udinese manager Kosta Runjaic was clearly unhappy with the situation and substituted Lucca immediately after the goal, replacing him with Iker Bravo.
Runjaic explained that Lucca’s decision to defy internal hierarchies was the reason behind the substitution. “We have clear hierarchies with penalty kicks,” Runjaic said.
“I didn’t like the discussion, and I prefer players who respect the rules.” He added that this issue would be addressed in training.
The incident went viral on social media, showing several teammates, including former Premier League stars Alexis Sanchez, stepping away from the ball.
Despite the drama, Lucca’s penalty proved to be the decisive goal as Udinese won the match 1-0, remaining 10th in the Serie A standings.
However, it’s still unclear whether any further consequences will follow for Lucca’s actions.
This article was updated 9 hours ago
