A disgrace to football… Donnarumma faces a barrage of criticism following Italy’s defeat

Donnarumma put in a superb performance throughout the match, saving numerous difficult shots, but before Italy’s failure to qualify for the World Cup, the penalty shoot-out saw some bizarre scenes between the two goalkeepers.

Donnarumma was on the line fiddling with a sheet of paper belonging to Bosnia and St Pauli goalkeeper Nikola Vasilj, just as Pio Esposito, Italy’s first penalty taker, stepped up to the spot and blasted the ball high over the bar. 

This reference sheet, on which the names of all the Italian strikers and their preferred corners were recorded, was clearly damaged afterwards; it is evident that Donnarumma tried to tear it up but the goalkeeper’s gloves appeared to be in the way.

DAZN commentator Mario Riker also immediately noticed the 27-year-old goalkeeper’s ploy. He said during his live commentary: “Has Donnarumma torn up the sheet now? I think he took a look at it himself.” 

Meanwhile, when Vasili realised what had happened to his sheet, he lost his temper and rushed to confront his opponent. French referee Clément Turpin was even forced to intervene, showing the St Pauli goalkeeper a yellow card for his complaints. 

But Donaruma, who had already been shown a yellow card earlier in the match, escaped without punishment. 

“This man is a disgrace to football: Donnarumma’s unprecedented and unfair move during the penalty shootout!” This was the comment from SportsSport, the largest sports portal in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Donnarumma came close to receiving a red card on more than one occasion. In the 41st minute, following Alessandro Bastoni’s sending-off, Donnarumma clashed with the opposition player Amar Dedić, resulting in a slight head-butt. 

However, Donnarumma did not receive a yellow card until the 81st minute, shortly after Haris Tapačović scored the equaliser; the exact reason was not clear from the television replays.

And that wasn’t all; even after the final whistle, Donnarumma remained in the spotlight when he got into a verbal altercation with Edin Džeko, who was wearing a bandage on his shoulder at the time.

Italy ultimately lost, and Donnarumma failed to save any of the penalties, whilst the Azzurri scored just one.

Read also: The nightmare continues... Italian newspapers attack the refereeing after World Cup failure