Jose Mourinho outlines the dire state of Roma’s injury crisis after the draw with Milan and hits out at the chaotic Italian sporting justice system. ‘I know this sort of thing is considered normal here.’

The Giallorossi remain in the running for a top four finish and therefore Champions League qualification, despite an injury crisis that has only intensified this evening.

Marash Kumbulla and Andrea Belotti both went off after knocks in the dramatic 1-1 draw with Milan at the Stadio Olimpico.

“I don’t think we will see Rick Karsdorp on the field again this season. The same goes for Diego Llorente, while I doubt Kumbulla will be at 100 per cent again,” said Mourinho in his press conference.

“We can hope to have Chris Smalling back in two or three games, if possible. Gini Wijnaldum is close to his comeback, I don’t know what the situation is with Paulo Dybala. We protected his adductor to get him playing against Atalanta, but he was on the bench and not meant to play. If Milan had scored today, I would not have put him on the pitch.

“Nemanja Matic is suspended against Monza, so we have to just keep going. I have been a coach at clubs that had 1,000 options, now I am in a group of extraordinary lads and I am proud to be working with them.

“Andrea Belotti couldn’t breathe after that blow to the ribs, he climbed up the stairs for the second half and raised the white flag, it was impossible to continue.”

The fight for the top four is further complicated by Juventus partially winning the appeal to revoke the 15-point penalty for artificially inflating transfer fees to boost capital gains.

However, this too is still up in the air, because the Federal Court of Appeal will have to rule on it again, potentially by the end of the season.

“I have been in Italy for four years, two at Inter and two at Roma, so I know this sort of thing is considered normal,” said Mourinho.

The Special One brought up the controversy over fourth official Marco Serra, who argued with the coach on the touchline during the defeat to Cremonese.

While after weeks of investigations, Serra has now been deferred to the disciplinary commission, Mourinho’s appeal against a two-match ban was rejected.

“When we talk about the sporting justice system, I say they owe me two games. I was banned against Sassuolo and Lazio, now Serra has been found guilty, but I can’t get those two games back.

“Fabio Paratici lost his job at Tottenham, now they have cleared him and he can work again. Juventus first were at -15, now +15, I cannot tell you if it influenced the race of not, as I always did what Allegri said and saw Juventus with the 15 points. It’s entertaining.”

Former Juventus director Paratici was given a 30-month ban from all football roles, which was expanded by FIFA, prompting him to step down at Tottenham.

Yesterday, his lawyers won an appeal to have that ban reduced not in the time limit, but in terms of which roles he was not allowed to perform, meaning he could get back to work without negotiating directly with players or agents.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Tickets Kit Collector