MY ACCOUNT
Jose Mourinho said he was “ashamed” by the officiating of Roma’s 1-1 Serie A draw at Napoli, believing the hosts should have conceded a penalty and had a man sent off.
Mourinho also appeared to suggest teams fighting for the Serie A title were being favoured by officials in a post-match outburst, after Stephan El Shaarawy’s last-minute goal sealed a valuable point for the Giallorossi.
Roma trailed for 80 minutes in Naples after Lorenzo Insigne netted his eighth penalty of the season, the highest tally among players in Europe’s top five leagues this season.
But El Shaarawy’s 91st-minute strike kept Roma within five points of fourth-placed Juventus, and represented the winger’s third last-minute goal of the Serie A season, more than any other player.
Mourinho, however, vented his frustration at the officials.
“There are teams that play to win the Scudetto, we don’t,” Mourinho told DAZN. “But we still have the right to play to win games, regardless of the opponent we face, whether it’s a team fighting for the Scudetto or one already relegated.
“Today it seemed that we did not have the right to play to win. [VAR] Mr Di Paolo, not to mention [referee] Mr Di Bello made me feel ashamed at least twice, the red to [Napoli defender Alessandro] Zanoli which was not given, and for the penalty not given to [Roma attacker Nicolo] Zaniolo.
“Luckily they [the officials] found nothing in our goal to nullify it. But enough, I ask for a little respect.
“Unfortunately, we weren’t good at the beginning [of the season] and now we cannot fight to win the Scudetto, but I want to have the right to play to win games.”
Mourinho celebrated wildly when El Shaarawy equalised, and expressed his pride at Roma extending their unbeaten run to 12 Serie A matches.
“I rejoiced at El Shaarawy’s goal because during the match it seemed impossible to get out of here with a positive result,” Mourinho said.
“We played very well, and we grew during the game. My team was fantastic, these guys fill me with pride. After Thursday’s game [against Bodo/Glimt in the Europa Conference League] the field today looked like Everest to us. But great quality, character, incredible physical and mental condition. We wanted more, but we did what we could.”
For Napoli, the last-gasp leveller represented a severe blow to their hopes of a first Scudetto since the Diego Maradona era, and head coach Luciano Spalletti conceded that a return of one point from their last two matches was not up to scratch.
Spalletti, though, drew attention to Mourinho’s behaviour on the touchline.
“From the first minute I tell my bench to behave well,” Spelletti said. “Even today, we have all been seated on the bench.
“Other teams seem to play at home, they jump on everyone, I’m not just talking about Roma, I’m talking in general. We sit down and let the referees do the work they have to do.”
Napoli and Roma have drawn both their matches in a single Serie A campaign for the first time since the 1994-95 season, having played out a goalless draw last October.
