Fans argue over Olympiakos’ goal

Fiorentina players and fans were extremely upset when the referee decided to award Olympiakos goal in the Europa Conference League final.

Fiorentina once again missed out on the Europa Conference League title, suffering a painful defeat to Olympiakos in the final. Despite their efforts, Vincenzo Italiano’s team could not overcome their opponents and fell short for the second consecutive year just before the “door to paradise.”

The players and fans of the Italian team had reason to be disappointed with the controversial decision made by the referee. Specifically, before Olympiakos’ forward El Kaabi scored, Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic fell to the ground while marking the opposing striker. At that moment, referee Artur Soares Dias seemed about to blow the whistle for a foul but changed his mind.

Fiorentina players Alfred Duncan, Rolando Mandragora, and Ranieri all spread their arms wide, complaining to the referee for not awarding a foul. As the play continued, another cross from Santiago Hezze created an opportunity for El Kaabi, who successfully converted.

Although the goal was awarded, VAR had to carefully review the play before confirming it. However, the review focused only on an offside check and not on the potential foul on Milenkovic.

Witnessing the controversial goal, Fiorentina fans took to social media to express their outrage.

One person said, “It’s unbelievable!”

Another said, “VAR has completely ruined the greatest historic moment in their history. Get rid of this terrible VAR technology!”

A third added, “It’s unfortunate for Fiorentina to make it to the final two years in a row and still not win.”

In the final match, both teams showed little during regular time and extra time. However, it didn’t need to go to penalties as El Kaabi’s goal secured the victory, making Olympiakos the new champions of the 2023/2024 Europa Conference League.

This is the first European title won by a Greek team, opening a new chapter for Greek football. Meanwhile, after last season’s defeat to West Ham, Fiorentina once again fell short, watching their opponents lift the trophy.