Chaos at Roma: De Rossi fired, Juric hired, protests and CEO resignation – All you need to know

A hectic week at Roma has seen the dismissal of club legend Daniele De Rossi from his role as head coach, the appointment of former Torino boss Ivan Juric, a number of staged protests against the club and the recent resignation of CEO Lina Souloukou.

Here is everything you need to know about the hectic week at the Stadio Olimpico.

De Rossi dismissal begins a hectic week at Roma

First thing on Wednesday morning, it was announced that Roma had parted company with De Rossi after a winless start to the 2024-25 Serie A season. Though he had picked up eight wins from his first 10 matches in charge, he had won just one out of 11 before his sacking.

The news came as somewhat of a surprise for all involved, as De Rossi had been preparing for the day’s training session when he heard of the news. He then gathered his things from Trigoria, and headed home.

He still had the courtesy to stop and pose for pictures and sign autographs for fans outside the gates of the training ground.

Later that same day, it was announced that former Torino and Hellas Verona coach Juric had been appointed on a short-term contract until the end of the 2024-25 season, with a possible option to extend if the Giallorossi qualify for next year’s Champions League.

The Croatian arrived at Roma’s training base just a few hours after De Rossi left for the final time, and took his first training session with his new players later that same afternoon.

Between De Rossi’s departure and Juric’s arrival, fans took their frustrations out on some of the senior players as they arrived for training, including captain Lorenzo Pellegrini.

Reports in the following days confirmed that some of the Roma’s senior squad members, including Pellegrini and Gianluca Mancini, went to confront the club’s management over the nature of De Rossi’s sacking.

CEO Souloukou resigns amidst fan protests

Tensions between the former coach and Roma’s CEO Lina Souloukou had been brewing for most of the summer. Reports suggested there had been disagreements over De Rossi’s contract extension in June, the handling of Paulo Dybala’s potential exit and the speed at which transfer negotiations were carried out.

Angered by the manner in which De Rossi was dismissed, large sections of the Giallorossi fanbase have planned protests against the club’s management for Sunday’s Serie A match against the current league leaders Udinese.

The Curva Sud will stay outside the Stadio Olimpico for the first half hour of the game, while other sectors have opted to attend, but limit their support until the second half.

As frustrations from the supporters towards Souloukou grew, the CEO had been placed under police protection according to reports form La Repubblica.

Then, on Sunday, prior to kick-off against Udinese, the club released a statement confirming that Souloukou had resigned from her role as CEO with immediate effect.

The supporter protests are still expected to be carried out as planned after what has been a chaotic few days in the running of their historic club.