“Mourinho Criticizes Referee in Roma’s European Final Defeat Against Sevilla”

After the game with Sevilla, which led to José Mourinho’s first defeat in a European final, the reputed Portuguese coach who leads Roma did not skimp on his criticism of the referee, in a game marked by several cases, culminating in the repetition of a penalty saved by Rui Patrícia in the 11-meter mark tiebreaker.

«This was a big game, it was a title that was in question and there were several moves, moments of very important decisions, which, in short… left something to be desired. I didn’t perceive. Pellegrini fell in the area and saw a yellow card. There is a ball cut with the arm. And then, at the end, VAR ordered a penalty saved by [Rui] Patricio to end the game quickly. Anyway, the referee looked Spanish», summarized the Portuguese coach, who left an ironic appeal to UEFA: «That this referee should not be refereeing more of these games, only in the Champions League.»

As for the challenge itself, Mourinho praised his team and also the opponent: “I never hid that Sevilla was about being a great team, a very difficult opponent. We spoke at the press conference that, physically, my players were having great difficulties and, moreover, the game was very tough, with a lot of competitiveness and aggression. Of course, at some point, the pressure [do Sevilha] made itself felt. It was an opponent who took on some aspects of the game, but we tried to react and be at the level of this final, but things didn’t go the way we wanted. I greeted Sevilla, their coach and I am very proud of my team, who did everything to win, worked and sweated a lot. The boys lost the final, they lost a trophy, but they didn’t lose their dignity and, therefore, they can and should go home with complete peace of mind.»

On the day the Portuguese lost his first final, the sixth played, a special word for all the winners: «I leave a word to the boys from Tirana, Stockholm, Gelsenkirchen and, of course, to my players, because they deserved more, much more in this game.”