Soccer: Mourinho cries foul after Roma lose at Fiorentina

(ANSA) - ROME, MAY 10 - AS Roma boss Jose Mourinho expressed frustration about the way his team's matches are being refereed after they suffered a setback in the battle to finish fifth and qualify for the Europa League with a 2-0 defeat at Fiorentina on Monday.
    Nicolas Gonzalez put the hosts ahead with a penalty and Giacomo Bonaventura doubled the lead with another early goal.
    With two games to go, Roma are sixth with 59 points, three points behind fifth-placed Lazio and level on points with seventh-placed Fiorentina and eighth-placed Atalanta.
    Sixth place is good for qualification of the Conference League, which Roma have reached the final of this year thanks to Thursday's 1-0 win over Leicester City in the semi.
    "Today there are two explanations. One is that, after Thursday's game [in the Europa Conference League] we didn't have the energy, mentally or physically," Mourinho said.
    "We always knew that was going to be a bit of a difference compared to a side that have been preparing for this game for a week.
    "But I would also like an explanation from [VAR official] Mr Banti from Livorno, who isn't far from here. [The penalty] is a touch but not a foul, and the referee who was right there did not award a penalty. It's not an issue for VAR but Mr. Banti intervened anyway.
    "If we are talking about the three points today, then we can stop there. I will say that, beyond the penalty from Banti, Fiorentina were stronger than us tonight, they played with a different energy and speed and they seemed more focused. They deserved to win.
    "But the problem is that we are not just talking about the three points today - we are talking about Venezia, Bologna, and many, many, many other episodes where there were no explanations give" (ANSA).