Romelu Lukaku was sent off for a foul on Christian Kouame late in Roma’s thrilling draw with Fiorentina, and Serie A announced on Tuesday that he would miss one match.
Following Nicola Zalewski’s dismissal midway through the second half, Lukaku was awarded a straight red card in the 87th minute of Sunday’s 1-1 draw in Rome for clattering into Kouame. This left Roma with nine men.
The tackle did not cause any major injuries to Ivory Coast forward Kouame, and Lukaku avoided a possible three-match suspension for his harsh behavior.
Lukaku will therefore just be absent from Sunday’s trip to Bologna, who are currently tied for fourth position with 25 points after winning their past four home games.
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The Belgium striker’s absence leaves Roma short-handed in attack as Paulo Dybala picked up the latest in a string of muscular injuries shortly after setting up Lukaku’s fifth-minute opener.
Dybala’s replacement Sardar Azmoun also suffered a thigh injury and will miss the weekend’s match and his team’s final Europa League group match against Sheriff on Thursday.
Escaping sanction completely was Ibrahim Sulemana, who has not been punished by the authorities despite knocking out Kristian Thorstvedt’s teeth in Monday’s last gasp 2-1 win over Sassuolo.
Two goals in stoppage time turned the game around for Cagliari, who are now out of the relegation zone. However, Sulemana did not receive a booking despite elbowing Thorstvedt in the mouth, leaving the Norway midfielder bleeding.
According to Italian media, after the game, Thorstvedt picked up two teeth from the field and showed them to Alessio Dionisi, the coach of Sassuolo.
Maurizio Mariani deemed the event to be an accident, and Sulemana was not sanctioned by VAR authorities.
