Monza boss Raffaele Palladino defends referee Daniele Chiffi and blames Roma reserves and José Mourinho instead: ‘I’ve never seen so many protests, it was outrageous.’
The Special One was furious with Chiffi and his frustration erupted during post-match interviews. Mourinho said Chiffi was the ‘worst referee’ of his career and revealed he had hidden a microphone to ‘record everything’ on the touchline.
Palladino has a different view, although he was sent off for dissent during the match.
“I wasn’t angry with the referee, to me, he’s been one of the best we’ve had this season. I think he made no mistakes,” the Brianzoli coach said during a post-match press conference.
“I was angry with the fourth official because I’ve never seen so many protests from the opposing bench, it was incredible. I burned more energy by watching them than by focusing on my team. What they did today was outrageous, so I was angrier with the fourth official. The referee was perfect. Actually, I congratulate him because he officiated well.”
Palladino will be suspended for the next game against Torino and said he was sorry because he won’t be able to ‘hug’ his close friend Ivan Juric over the weekend.
Mourinho wasn’t happy with anything Chiffi did during the match and was frustrated to see his defender Zaki Celik receive a second yellow card at minute 96.
The U-Power Stadium meeting ended in a 1-1 draw, leaving the Giallorossi out of the top four, level on 58 points with Milan and Atalanta, two below Inter, with five games remaining.