The Giallorossi coach: “Last year, we played an excellent game in Monza, and inexperienced people said harsh words to us.”
José Mourinho received another red card after a confrontation with the Monza bench, with whom there had been tensions in the previous season as well. In injury time, with Roma leading 1-0 thanks to El Shaarawy‘s 90th-minute goal, the Monza bench, led by Palladino, protested about a ball that was not returned to the field by the ball boys.
At that point, Mourinho made a ‘crying’ and ‘bla bla’ gesture towards the opponents, and referee Ayroldi showed him a red card. As a result of this expulsion, Mourinho won’t be on the bench for the upcoming match on Sunday at 6:00 PM at San Siro against Inter, his former team.
“I was sent off because I silenced their mouths, but I didn’t insult anyone,” said The Special One after the match. “Last year, we played an excellent game in Monza, and people without experience said harsh words about us (indicating to the Monza coaching staff). Today, the only bench that put pressure on the referee was theirs. ‘I’m sorry not to be there against Inter? Like every time I’m not there…”
The other time Mourinho was suspended against Inter coincided with Roma’s only victory over the Nerazzurri since he took charge of the Giallorossi: a 2-1 comeback win with goals from Dybala and Smalling after Dimarco had given Inter the lead on October 1, 2022. In the other four matches, Roma suffered four defeats.
Raffaele Palladino, the Monza coach, responded, saying, “Mourinho’s words? I don’t want to create controversy; otherwise, for three days, we’ll only talk about what happens off the field.” He continued, “You ask if I was nervous at the end with the ball boys because of the missing balls? Yes, it was about the missing balls. They couldn’t be found. It happened, and we acknowledge what occurred.”
