Roma boss Foncesca insists Diawara remains a ‘very important’ player

BetOdds African All Stars Roma Amadou Diawara Udinese v Roma Serie A

The Guinea international’s future in the Italian capital has been in doubt following an error by the Giallorossi

AS Roma manager Paulo Foncesca has stated that Amadou Diawara remains a very important player for his team after the Guinean’s agent, Daniele Piraino, said he needed clarity on his future at the club.

Diawara was at the centre of controversy after he was registered as an Under-22 player in the Giallorossi’s Serie A season-opening game against Hellas Verona, although he was ineligible since he is currently 23 years old.

He played virtually the entire match which originally ended goalless.

After a review by the football authorities, Roma forfeited their points from the game, with Hellas taking an automatic 3-0 victory instead.

Diawara started the next match against reigning champions Juventus from the bench and came on for Lorenzo Pellegrini in the 71st minute, the game ending 2-2.

Piraino believes Diawara should have started the match and showed his displeasure at how Roma handled the initial controversy he described as a shame.

“The player [Diawara] is not at fault for not having been included in the list,” Piraino told TuttoMercato. “It was also a regret for Amadou, that the company [Roma] forgot to include him.

“But is it his fault? Indeed, the fact that they are calling it the ‘Diawara case’ is a shame, because it certainly didn’t please him, and the responsibilities are not his.

“In this period, it’s a shame. He was happy with his teammates’ performance, but he wanted to start the match [against Juventus].

“He wanted to stay in the line-up for what he does and like he deserves to.

“There’s a week left of the transfer market, if we add technical choices to the list, we need to discuss with the club. We would like clarity on his real role and the importance of Amadou in the club’s project.”

Ahead of Roma’s clash with Udinese on Saturday, Foncesca asserted that Piraino's words will not influence his decision on how he will utilise Diawara.

“Yes, he [Diawara] has played a lot, he’s an important player and there’s no problem,” he said at a press conference.

“If the agent thinks that this is the right way and that it will influence my decisions, he’s wrong. Diawara has been and is a very important player, and he is working well.”

The Guinea international joined Roma from Napoli last season and made a total of 31 competitive appearances, scoring one goal and providing one assist.

2020-10-03 10:00:05

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