Roma great Daniele de Rossi has jumped to the defence of sacked team manager Gianluca Gombar.

Gombar was dumped after he allowed six substitutes to be made in their midweek Coppa Italia defeat to Spezia.

The dismissal has already created a rift between the players and coach Paulo Fonseca, who supported the sacking.

And De Rossi also weighed in on the players' side: “I will always remember who I met in my life thinking about what he transmitted to me as a man.

"Gianluca Gombar, a professional mistake is an accident that doesn't change what all of us who know you think of you.

"Always with his head held high, Gianluchino, a decent person, educated and with a good heart."