He was never getting away with this one. Edin Dzeko is remembered fondly by many Premier League fans, winning two league titles during his time at Manchester City. He left Manchester for Roma in 2016, and has banged in goals at an excellent rate in Serie A.
This was definitely not one of his prouder moments, however. Roma travelled to Fiorentina for a Coppa Italia tie this evening, with the match proving to be disastrous for the visitors. They would ultimately fall to a humiliating 7-1 defeat, but the actions of Dzeko emerged as the main talking point from the game.
With his side trailing 4-1 in the second half, the Bosnian striker disagreed with a decision by the referee to award Lorenzo Peligrini a yellow card. He showed his displeasure by spitting at the referee, and was unsurprisingly given a straight red card.
Having been introduced as a half time substitute, he would last only 25 minutes on the pitch.
Spitting at an opponent or match official is often viewed as one of the most despicable acts in football, and it is unlikely to be viewed fondly by the authorities in Italy. Dzeko will likely receive a lengthy ban, with the standard for such an incident set earlier this season.
Douglas Costa spit in the mouth of Sassuolo's Federico Di Francesco during a Serie A game a few months back, being sent off after a VAR review of the football. He would subsequently receive a four-match ban.
This is going to be a huge story in world football. Douglas Costa spits in Federico Di Francesco's mouth during the #Juve and #Sassuolo game. pic.twitter.com/IXyYDClct8
— ELEVEN Football (@ElevenSportsFB) September 16, 2018
Dzeko is likely to receive a similar punishment over the coming days, although it may be even harsher. Spitting at a match official may be construed as being even more of an offence than Costa was convicted of, and it would not be surprising to see the Roma man banned for five or more games.
