Adani slams Allegri over remarks about Roma, calls for apology

Ermanno Feliciani will referee tomorrow evening's match between Roma and Cagliari at the Stadio Olimpico. The Teramo referee has a very positive record with Roma in recent years: five wins, one draw (against Salernitana in 2023) and no defeats. The wins include matches against Como and Udinese, while there are no particular cases worth highlighting. Cagliari have a much weaker record against the referee. There have been three previous Serie A meetings between Feliciani and Cagliari, with the Sardinian side losing all three. Cagliari's most recent defeat came on 16 February 2026, when the rossoblù lost 0-2 at home to Lecce. For Roma, the record gives the Giallorossi a strong reference point ahead of the home fixture. The assistant referees will be Zingarelli and Fontani, with Marian as the fourth official. Ghersini will work the Var, while Camplone will serve as the Avar.

Roman radio pundits were divided after Roma's 3-3 draw at Napoli, with debate centring on the match, Gollini, Wesley and Gian Piero Gasperini's tactics. Gianluca Piacentini (Rete Sport) said: “A glass half full given how the match had gone, but there is regret at how it developed, and that 3-2 goal. Without it, I think Roma would have won.” He added: “Roma have lost points to their rivals, but you have already played Atalanta, Inter, Napoli and Como and not lost. There is a step forward. In my view Roma's 18 points are worth more than Milan's, and more than Lazio's 22.” Piacentini also criticised Allegri, saying: “He is ageing badly.” Fabio Petruzzi (Rete Sport) praised the spectacle, saying Roma “deserved at least the draw” after the 2-2 score, and that “nobody thought the match was over at 2-0.” He said Roma had “made that Premier-style step” and was “hard to beat, never gives up”, though he disliked the Napoli counter-attacks Roma allowed. Petruzzi praised Gollini's “great saves” and said he made no error on McTominay's third goal. David Rossi (Rete Sport) said: “Overall it was not one of the best Romas of the year, there were moments when it did not look like the usual Roma. But Napoli have a strong side, they finished second last year. It was enough for a Roma not at 100% to leave with a point from a difficult ground.” Mario Corsi (Tele Radio Stereo) said Gasperini had given players a motivation that Roma's players had lacked for years. “Gasperini is Roma at this moment,” he said, adding that when the coach wanted Balerdi and De Roon because “they are two captains”, it meant he wanted to give the side an identity. Paolo Cosenza said the match had been “a wasted opportunity” and that he had been convinced Roma would win from 2-2, adding that Gasperini was “immense” with his substitutions but had not convinced him with the starting line-up. Lorenzo Pes said Wesley had been “very much in the shade” and that it was “perhaps one of the worst performances in giallorosso”, adding: “On Gollini I have heard many things, but I think he played a sufficient match. For me he is a normal goalkeeper, perhaps a little less.” Valentina Catoni (Tele Radio Stereo) argued: “We met a Napoli that had been battered for two months and then suddenly recovered form. I don't understand the disappointment of those who say we gifted them two points.” She noted Roma went to the Maradona without Svilar, Koné and Dybala, “three heavy starters”. Piero Torri (Manà Manà Sport) said Roma “did not steal anything”, and that the real error was Gollini's on Spinazzola's shot, where he “should have held it rather than parried it.” Daniele Lo Monaco (Radio Romanista) criticised Wesley's positioning on the cross and questioned the treatment of Malen's red card compared with Rafa Marín, while Roberto Pruzzo said Beukema had “thrown himself to the ground” and that Soulé had done what he does best. Nando Orsi argued that Soulé is left-footed and suits cutting inside, and that using both Soulé and Dybala could be a problem.

Massimiliano Allegri's post-match accusation that Roma were handed Champions League qualification after the Napoli-Roma game has drawn an angry response from the Giallorossi, and Corriere della Sera reports that the figures from last season refute the claim. Allegri said: "They were handed the Champions League on a plate and I paid for it." The analysis says Milan's failure to qualify for Europe was not caused by alleged refereeing favours for the capital side, but by the rossoneri's poor form at the decisive stage of the campaign. Five matchdays from the end of last season, Milan led Roma by eight points. A vertical collapse over their final ten games, with six defeats, three wins and one draw for an average of 1.0 points per match, cost them the target. In their last four home games at San Siro, Milan took just one point from a possible twelve. A draw in the final round against already-safe Cagliari would have been enough for fourth place, but the home defeat allowed Como to overtake them at the death. The slump prompted Milan's ownership to sack Allegri at the end of the season. The data also undermine his defence: across his last 18 Serie A matches in charge across both spells, Allegri averaged 1.16 points per game, with just four wins and ten defeats in total. For Roma, the row is a reminder of how closely the race for Champions League places was fought last season, when they finished third in Serie A and secured their place in this season's competition. The club's response shows it is unwilling to let the accusation pass without challenge.