AS Roma employees declare industrial action following surprise transfers

AS Roma employees declared a state of agitation—a form of industrial protest that often precedes strike action—on Monday 13 July, the day the club's squad began pre-season training at Trigoria for the 2026–27 campaign. The move follows the sudden relocation of 42 workers from other departments, including marketing, ticketing, and media and communications, to AS Roma Store positions. In an official statement, staff said: "The relocations have caused a profound transformation of work for many employees, with the risk of losing professional skills and expertise built up over years. The criteria used to identify affected staff remain unclear and lack sufficient transparency and verifiability. The assemblies revealed strong discontent and bitterness among workers, who perceived these decisions as a significant impact on their professional development and the trust built with the company. Health and safety issues persist, particularly regarding training, risk assessment, and conditions at some retail outlets." Workers accused the Friedkin Group of executing a "disguised collective redundancy" through aggressive cost-cutting and outsourcing policies. Lawyer Francesco Bronzini, representing several affected employees, denounced a serious "demotion and stripping of professional status" affecting long-serving Roma professionals, now reduced to purely executive tasks. The club justified the reorganisation as necessary restructuring following the closure of official media channels and the merger with subsidiary Soccer, with marketing activities handed to multinational agency We Are Social.

AS Roma's pre-season training camp at Trigoria opened with bad news as striker Robinio Vaz suffered a first-degree medial collateral ligament injury to his right knee during a session. The French forward will undergo further examination to determine the severity and recovery timeline. Vaz arrived at Roma in January and was preparing for his first full season as a giallorosso. In his opening six months, he scored once, a decisive goal against Lecce. The injury comes as Gasperini begins his tenure as head coach and assesses the squad ahead of the new campaign.

Ryan Friedkin arrived at Roma's training ground on a day when the club's summer transfer business gathered momentum. The vice-president's presence at Trigoria signals an uptick in activity as the club works across multiple fronts. Roma fans have praised Paulo Dybala's decision to renew his contract on reduced terms, a show of commitment that underscores the attacking midfielder's importance to the project under head coach Gian Piero Gasperini. The club also announced Mattia Scala as the new Primavera head coach, extending structural changes throughout the organization. Transfer contact continues with targets including Summerville, though a move for Robinio Vaz has been halted. The window remains active with several positions still under review, and Friedkin's appearance at the training ground suggests decision-making at board level is accelerating.