Jose Mourinho slammed referee Fabio Maresca for ‘targeted’ yellow cards and a ‘lack of respect’ towards Roma after their defeat to Inter. ‘Everyone felt this was heading towards a draw.’
The Giallorossi coach was suspended for this match, so he decided to watch it from the press box area of the stands rather than a VIP area.
He watched his decimated team fight hard, but offer practically nothing going forward, beaten eventually by Marcus Thuram tapping in the Federico Dimarco ball rolled across the face of goal.
Although he did not speak to the official media, Mourinho did give an interview with the Roma Channel and it did not hold back on the criticism of the officials.
“With all the fatigue that we accumulated, so little time to prepare this game, I think my lads put in a strong performance,” said the Special One.
“I think the feeling in the whole stadium, not just our fans, but theirs too, was that this was heading towards a draw. The team was calm even amid all the difficulties.
“We received yellow cards for Mancini and Ndicka, which felt targeted just like those for Cristante and Paredes in midfield, whereas Inter only had Pavard booked.
“I am disappointed with the result, as the lads put in such an effort and the goal was avoidable. I am sad that there was no respect for my players, as the attitude from Maresca towards Mancini and Ndicka shows everything clearly.”
Roma were decimated by injuries to Paulo Dybala, Chris Smalling, Lorenzo Pellegrini, Renato Sanches, Leonardo Spinazzola, Tammy Abraham and Marash Kumbulla, but Mourinho was more furious about the scheduling after they had played a Europa League showdown with Slavia Prague on Thursday evening.
“I am pleased that coming here with half the squad missing and another gift from the Lega Serie A, because we played Sunday and not Monday, despite all that, the lads did well. I am sad because we deserved more.”
The atmosphere was extremely fiery on the first return to San Siro by Romelu Lukaku since leaving Inter over the summer, so although many of the 30,000 whistles were confiscated, the ultras still managed to make a loud noise every time the Belgian touched the ball.