Jose Mourinho threatens legal action against assistant referee and questions motive, after getting sent off
Mourinho was sent off as Roma lost to bottom-of-the-table Cremonese, and now he's accused the assistant official of having an agenda.
Jose Mourinho is so unhappy at being sent off on Tuesday night, that he's threatened legal action against the assistant referee who earned him the red card.
Nothing screams football heritage more than allowing a team their first league win of the season at the end of February, and then getting sent off from the sidelines in the process.
That's exactly what happened to Mourinho, as his Roma side lost to Cremonese in Serie A, having previously lost to them in the Coppa Italia as well.
It was the third time this season that the Roma boss had seen red, and that's three more than his entire team put together in the league.
Advert
Fans watching the game think that he used a very English swear word at the assistant referee to receive his marching orders, early in the second half.
Unsurprisingly the former Manchester United boss was not impressed with the situation, questioning the fact that the assistant is from Turin, and Roma face Juventus at the weekend.
On top of that, the 60-year-old has threatened legal action against Marco Serra, who was the assistant, saying he wants to see if there's audio of what was said.
"I am emotional, but not crazy," Jose said after the game, "In order to react the way I did, something had to happen first. I need to understand if I can take any legal action.
"Piccinini gave me a red card, because unfortunately the fourth official does not have the capacity to understand what he said to me.
"I want to find out if there is an audio recording. I don’t want to get into the fact that Serra is from Turin and on Sunday we are playing against Juventus.
"For the first time in my career, a fourth official spoke to me in the most inexcusable way. It was unjustifiable. At the end of the game, I went to speak to them.
"Piccinini, who was the fourth official in the last game when I was sent off, told me to apologise to Serra. I told Serra he should have the courage to explain what happened, but he had memory problems.”
He was asked what exactly was said in his exchange with Serra, and the manager said he'd rather it all came out in public, and he could get his way.
The FIGC Prosecutor’s Office has reportedly opened an investigation into what was said, so Mourinho could get his justice, or a longer ban.
His own assistant was banned from the touchline for a month earlier in the season, ironically following the loss to Cremonese in the cup.
Topics: Football, Jose Mourinho, AS Roma, Roma, Italy, Serie A
Ryan Sidle