UNFORTUNATE FLURRY OF INJURIES
Barcelona, Roma, and Juventus could soon be active in the transfer market as each have lost a key player to a long spell on the sidelines. Luis Suarez had surgery on his knee on Sunday and will be out for four months, while Nicolo Zaniolo and Merih Demiral both suffered anterior cruciate ligament injuries in the same match on Sunday - Juventus' 2-1 away victory versus Roma at the Stadio Olimpico. It is likely the latter pair will miss the European Championships with Italy and Turkey respectively, too.
Zaniolo’s surgery was successful! pic.twitter.com/LhYQlNsj34
— 6ixSide Calcio (@6ixSideCalcio) January 13, 2020
PITCH NOT PERFECT
Organisation isn't one of Serie A's strong suits, but even this was a turn up for the books as the fixture between Hellas Verona and Genoa was delayed by 15 minutes because the white lines on the pitch weren't correctly drawn out. After conducting a routine inspection pre-match, referee Maurizio Mariani noticed the penalty area was wonky.
— Genoa CFC (@GenoaCFC) January 12, 2020
PARMA PROTEST
Staying with Serie A now, with Parma fans taking centre stage. Ticket prices are becoming more of a problem, not just in Italy, but in most other top-flight competitions, but the supporters of Gialloblu have decided to take a stand by boycotting next week's match against Juventus at the Allianz Stadium. Instead, they will use the money that would have been spent on the away tickets to donate to local charities.
That’s unseen and brilliant protest!
— Tancredi Palmeri (@tancredipalmeri) January 13, 2020
Parma fans decided not to attend Juventus-Parma next week because of high price on away fans tickets imposed by Juventus,
therefore will donate the same money due for tickets to charity!
(banner pic via @TuttoMercatoWeb ) pic.twitter.com/8npKqPdcfh
THE DADDY OF PROFESSIONAL FOULS
Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday after beating Atletico Madrid on penalties following a 0-0 draw in Saudi Arabia. However, what went viral afterwards wasn't a wonderful piece of skill or a goal (obviously), but the most unprofessional professional foul you are ever likely to see. As Alvaro Morata runs through on goal with just five minutes remaining in extra time, he prepares to shoot and possibly score to make himself an Atletico hero against his former club, only for Federico Valverde to scythe him down with a quiet staggering tackle from behind. The red card was soon produced, but he was already on his way off the pitch.
Federico Valverde should get a statue outside the Bernabeu for this. Possibly the greatest professional foul the game has ever seen pic.twitter.com/lrraoLQA6n
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) January 12, 2020
