Poor referees in the Conference League? Rome avoided another debacle, but didn’t beat the Norwegians. Mourinho criticizes referees

When AS Roma suffered a debacle in Norway at the end of October, Jose Mourinho didn’t say one bad word about the performance of the referees. There were hints of dissatisfaction, but he was aware of his team’s poor performance. Even at home, however, his charges could not beat Bodo/Glimt. He spared no criticism of the referees.

It was 25 October when Bodo/Glimt scored a historic victory. On home soil they managed to humiliate the famous AS Rome with its equally famous coach Jose Mourinho by 6:1.

The Portuguese coach was disappointed with the performance of his charges, he made it clear. Nor did he lay the blame on anyone but himself. The result was too clear to look for reasons for the defeat anywhere outside of himself and his team.

So the second match between these teams was quite closely watched. Everyone wondered if the Norwegians would be able to build on their heroic performance and beat Rome again. But they didn’t. But they did lead twice in the match and the game ended in a 2-2 draw.

In this case, Mourinho did not spare any criticism of the referees. But the fact is that it is not only the Italian media that is on his side. There is a lack of VAR in Conference League matches, which proved to be crucial in this match.

The Romans were not awarded two penalties, at least one of which was really as clear as possible.

“The game ended 2-2, but we should have kicked two penalties that were clear as day. You can say what you want, but the opponent had 2 shots on target and scored 2 goals. I don’t know if there are only poor referees in the Conference League who are starting their careers,” Mourinho expressed his despair.

“We are struggling to score goals even though we are creating enough chances. But the referee was the deciding factor in the game. Theplayers fought for Rome until the final whistle,” the Portuguese added.

Surprisingly, Bodo/Glimt still lead the group with 8 points, while second-placed AS Roma have one point less and do not have promotion in their hands. “It’s not up to us to get to the top. But we control second place,” Mourinho concluded his post-match statement.

Source: Football-Italia