"This bloke is a disgrace to football!" Gianluigi Donnarumma causes utter horror with a dirty tackle during Italy's World Cup disaster

The cheat sheet, on which all the Italian strikers and their preferred corners were noted, was clearly damaged afterwards. Donnarumma had obviously tried to tear the piece of paper up – but his goalkeeper’s gloves were apparently in the way.

DAZN commentator Mario Rieker also immediately picked up on the 27-year-old’s dirty trick. “Has Donnarumma torn up the note now? He’s had a look at it himself, I’d say,” he remarked during the streaming service’s commentary.

Meanwhile, when Vasilj realised what had happened to his set-piece, he lost his temper. The Hamburg player immediately sought a confrontation with his opponent. Referee Clement Turpin even felt compelled to intervene – and showed the St Pauli goalkeeper a yellow card for complaining. Donnarumma, who had already been booked, got off scot-free, however.

"This bloke is a disgrace to football: Donnarumma’s unprecedented and unfair move during the penalty shoot-out!" was the verdict of SportsSport, the largest national sports portal in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The fact that Donnarumma was even allowed to remain between the posts was far from a given. Following Alessandro Bastoni’s red card in the 41st minute, he had clashed with opponent Amar Dedic, resulting in a slight headbutt.

However, Donnarumma did not receive a yellow card until the 81st minute, shortly after Gladbach’s Haris Tabakovic had equalised. The exact reason was not visible on the TV footage. And that wasn’t all! Even after the final whistle, Donnarumma remained at the centre of attention when he got into a verbal altercation with Edin Dzeko, who was by then wearing a bandage on his shoulder.

But none of it helped. Italy ultimately lost 2-5 on penalties. Donnarumma let all four penalties slip past him. On the Italian side, alongside Esposito, Bryan Cristante also missed, his attempt hitting the underside of the crossbar and bouncing clearly onto the ground before the line. For the Squadra Azzurra, this marks the third World Cup in a row they have missed out on!

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