Gasperini defends Donyell Malen after red card in Roma’s goalless draw

Gian Piero Gasperini said Donyell Malen’s challenge “looked bad” but insisted the Roma forward did not intend to hurt anyone after being sent off against Como.

Roma were held to a 0-0 draw by Como in the sixth round of Serie A, with Malen shown a straight red card in the 53rd minute.

Speaking to DAZN, Roma manager Gasperini said there had been a foul before the incident involving the Netherlands international.

“Before the incident involving Donyell Malen, there was a foul,” Gasperini said.

“I think it is difficult to describe it as violent conduct. Malen reacted after he was grabbed and restrained, and he also touched the ball. The part that looked bad was the way he rose or jumped, but there was no intention to hurt anyone.”

Gasperini felt the dismissal changed the nature of the match, which had been played at an enjoyable level before Malen’s sending-off.

“The red card took the enjoyment out of the game,” he added. “It was a good match, and after that incident it became less enjoyable.”

The Roma manager also criticised the use of isolated still images when assessing incidents, arguing that the action needed to be judged in its full context.

“If you stop the incident at a particular moment, it becomes easy to make a judgement,” he said. “But football is not made up of still images. It consists of continuous actions and movement. Otherwise, you could justify anything.

“It is time to stop assessing incidents by freezing them at one particular moment, because that distorts and misrepresents reality.”

Malen is expected to receive a two- to three-match suspension for the straight red card for excessive force. That would rule him out of Roma’s meetings with Genoa and Napoli, while he could also miss the game against Cagliari.

The match produced the first 0-0 draw in Serie A this season, coming in the league’s 54th game. It also meant Serie A did not surpass the longest run without a goalless draw among Europe’s five major leagues, a record held by La Liga after 60 matches last season.

The result was Roma’s second successive draw in Serie A and moved them to 14 points, leaving them temporarily second. Como also dropped points again but climbed to 11 points in sixth place, with both positions subject to change.

Roma’s next league fixture is away to Genoa in the seventh round on Saturday. Como will visit Fiorentina on Sunday.

Away from Serie A, Roma face Real Madrid on Wednesday in the second round of the Champions League.