AS Roma’s secure control over Serie A Femminile with win over Juventus, whilst Pomigliano throw a tantrum

The 2023/24 Serie A Femminile season has taken an incredibly dramatic turn in two very different ways. One of them is on the pitch with the two best sides facing off against one another, and the other is off of it.

The build-up to the weekend was dominated by the Juventus vs AS Roma clash at Biella, a match that saw two teams with a 100% record after five games face off. It was a game that lived up to expectations as there were four goals and plenty of talking points.

The night before, though, Pomigliano were reeling from their 1-0 loss at home to Sampdoria and led to them communicating to the FIGC that they will be leaving Serie A Femminile, primarily citing refereeing decisions from that game.

Viens and Haavi shine for AS Roma against Juventus

Both Roma and Juventus had 15 points each before they met at Juventus‘ new home in Biella, but now it is just the champions who stand alone at the top of Serie A Femminile.

Juventus were hardly played off of the park by Roma despite the fact that it was 3-0 to the away side before the hour mark, but Alessandro Spugna’s side were really clinical and just posed a threat from everywhere on the pitch.

The opener came from Emilie Haavi‘s superb work down the right wing before Manuela Giugliano scored, and she got a goal of her own with another great run and a finish past Pauline Peyraud-Magnin. That goal was right at the start of the second half and only a few minutes later, Evelyne Viens got the goal that her performance deserved.

She pounced on a loose ball after Valentina Giacinti had robbed Cecilia Salvai and finished superbly. Julia Grosso immediately grabbed one back for the Bianconere but after a rocky 10 minutes where a comeback could have been on the cards, Roma saw it through and the title is now theirs to lose.

Players like Giugliano and Giada Greggi were extremely impressive and that is largely down to the steady ship that is Saki Kumagai in the midfield with them. Juventus must now hope that a tough Women’s Champions League group causes Roma some issues over the next couple of months.

Pomigliano attempt to leave Serie A Femminile

Despite the fact that there was such a massive game to enjoy in Serie A Femminile, Pomigliano really became the story of the weekend when they informed the FIGC that they intended to leave the division.

You can read the full statement in the piece linked below, but they specifically referenced the penalty decision at the end of their 1-0 defeat to Sampdoria. In fairness to them, it clearly was not a penalty, but their response was to leave the league.

The suggestion is that financial troubles were the real driver behind the decision to leave, given they were trying to sell their place in the division over the summer.

It took three days of silence from both the FIGC and Pomigliano before the decision was eventually reversed. They confirmed their intention to continue playing in the league but stressed that their reasons for wanting to leave still remain.

“This is a choice of responsibility taken in defence of the women’s football movement, the season, our players and all of our staff. These are the reasons that have led us to reverse our decision, which was drastic and decisive, taken on Saturday evening after the game against Sampdoria,” the statement began.

“We will continue our league campaign and take to the field against Inter on Sunday, in the hope that the unwritten rules of sporting loyalty will be respected and maintained. We hope that this backwards step will not be interpreted as an act of weakness, and we remain true to our beliefs and move forward with our heads held high, strengthened by the solidarity of sportspeople who believe in the values that sport express in the purest form.

“Pomigliano Femminile will continue to represent Campania and the South, with the heart and passion that has always set it apart. We want to continue to go against the big national football institutions on the pitch, and to not have to fight against invisible opponents, to continue trying to achieve, with all of our strength, a third consecutive survival [against relegation].”

Serie A Femminile 2023/24: Matchday 6 results

Serie A Femminile table