As Roma succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Juventus in Turin, Giallorossi coach Jose Mourinho expressed surprise and confusion regarding the officiating of referee Daniele Orsato and said that Roma deserved to win the match.
The official blew his whistle just before Tammy Abraham scored a goal in the buildup, to signal a penalty for the visiting side – a penalty that was later denied by Wojciech Szczesny.
Jordan Veretout missed the penalty and Bryan Cristante was later reported to be told by Orsato: “The goalkeeper comes out, penalty, offside, and if I don’t blow the whistle? There’s no advantage given on penalties. And then you blame me because he missed the penalty?”
Mourinho himself said: “I don’t want to judge the referee. Orsato explained to me that there is no advantage over the penalty kick. At that point I no longer wanted to discuss and it’s better to leave it to the experts.” (via Corriere dello Sport)
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has now commented regarding the proceedings before their Champions League encounter against Zenit St. Petersburg.
“Complaining about the referee is very Italian. It’s part of Italy and of the Italian way of thinking. There is a generational change among Italian referees, they are good and now they are supported by the VAR. We have to give them time and make them make fewer mistakes,” he said.
Roma sit 4th in the league table with 15 points, one point ahead of 7th placed Juventus.