The Roma and Salernitana benches often bickered during Sunday’s game. The Granata director Walter Sabatini criticized the behavior of José Mourinho and the other staffers and players: “With all due respect for the Giallorossi, I have seen ignoble things from a sportsmanship standpoint today. What happens when you come to play at the Stadio Olimpico is truly unacceptable.”
The director talked to DAZN (via SportMediaset): “They all go out on the pitch on every call. They heavily influence the referees since they lack the personality to begin with. I know I can lose, but not like this. I apologize to Mourinho for even naming him, and I will never get to his level. After seeing my words, he might reply that I have never won anything. I am a nobody and not a demigod like him. However, I love my team, we are fighting to avoid relegation, and we deserve to be treated better. We should have had a penalty kick in the early going, but the official did not want to see it.”
Mourinho took the high road and did not directly respond to Sabatini after the contest: “I never hide the truth, differently from some clubs or the police. A member of our bench told the opponents that they would go back to Serie B. They were unhappy, and I apologized on his behalf. We are civilized people and what happens on the pitch stays there. I do not think anybody will be waiting outside the locker room to throw hands.”