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"
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