What was initially speculation is now official: Pantaleo Longo, the former General Secretary of AS Roma, has officially joined Hellas Verona as the Venetian side’s new Director of Operations.
While an executive leaving one football club for another is not out of the ordinary — Longo’s decision to join Verona will surely raise some eyebrows throughout Italy.
Longo resigned from the Giallorossi in late September after Roma were handed an automatic 0-3 loss to, ironically, Hellas Verona after the Sporting Judge of the Italian FA (FIGC) ruled that the club used an ineligible player during the clash between the two sides.
Roma mistakenly added midfielder Amadou Diawara (23) to the Under-22 portion of their official team list when he should have been added to their regular 25-man roster.
Because Diawara took part in the match, which ended 0-0, the Sporting Judge handed all three points to Verona, which remains Roma’s only defeat of the season.
Even though Longo himself did not make the error in the team sheet, part of his duties were to manage and oversee various administrative tasks related to the squad, which ultimately resulted in his departure.
Longo’s decision to resign from Roma and join Verona — the side that directly benefitted from his mistake — while also being handed a significant promotion in terms of job title will certainly create even more questions surrounding the situation.
