Roma player gives dignified response after angry Ajax ballboy launches ball at him

Riccardo Calafiori had the ball launched at him from a couple of yards as the game drew to a close

Thursday's game with Roma was, make no mistake about it, an incredibly frustrating night for all connected with Ajax. Despite having the better of their Europa League quarter-final against the Italian side, the four-time European champions failed to build on Davy Klaassen's opener, which had given them a half-time lead in Amsterdam. A missed Dusan Tadic penalty early in the second half was followed by two Roma away goals - the first a Lorenzo Pellegrini free-kick, which was fumbled by Kjell Scherpen, then a late winner from Ibañez. Paulo Fonseca's side were in no rush to restart play whenever the ball went out for a throw in the game's final stages, much to the annoyance of one of Ajax's ballboys. Deep into stoppage time, as the ball went out for a Roma throw midway through their own half, Riccardo Calafiori ambled across to take it, eating up every second he possibly could in the process. Angered by this, a ballboy launched the ball at him from a couple of yards away, prompting a brief exchange of words between the two. https://twitter.com/FootballJOE/status/1380267885407444993 Calafiori was booked for his troubles, but later acknowledged that he understood the ballboy's actions. "Probably seeing an opponent wasting time would've irritated me, as well," the 18-year-old defender is quoted as saying by Eurosport's Siavoush Fallahi. "I don't say I respect him, but it's something that can happen." https://twitter.com/siavoushf/status/1380272365179912196?s=21 Roma will hope to seal their passage to the semi-finals when they host the Dutch club next week, the winners of the tie likely to face Manchester United, who beat Granada 2-0 in Spain, for a place in the final in Gdansk.