Fenerbahçe coach Jose Mourinho attacked the referee of his team’s match against Rangers in the second leg of the Europa League round of 16, calling him “arrogant.”
The Turkish club managed to pull off a comeback, winning 2-0 after losing the first leg 3-1, forcing the penalty shootout, which Rangers won and eliminated Mourinho’s team from the Europa League.
Special One said after the match, “The referee was arrogant and conceited. We asked him several times to award more than one penalty, but he refused to even consider our request.”
He added, “The fourth official was nice, but the VAR should have helped us and informed the referee of the truth, but he was negligent and didn’t.”
Mourinho continued, “I hope that everything that happened to me in European competitions is not the result of the Budapest final. I hope it’s just a coincidence.”
Mourinho was referring to the Budapest final, when he was Roma’s coach against Sevilla and fiercely attacked the refereeing after losing the title on penalties.
The Portuguese concluded by saying, “Since then, and since my suspension, we (Fenerbahçe) haven’t played in the Champions League due to a fake penalty kick. Today, the video referee didn’t see three of our penalties. I hope this is just bad luck and not a conspiracy against me.”
