Luigi De Siervo, the CEO of Lega Serie A, responded to Jose Mourinho‘s complaints about the scheduling following Roma’s loss to Inter, stating that Mourinho’s comments were just an excuse.
Inter won a direct battle against Roma in the 10th round of the Serie A, with Marcus Thuram‘s only goal proving decisive. After the game, Mourinho ignored all the important media speaking only to the official Roma Channel in which he criticized the refereeing for what he described as ‘targeted yellow cards’ against his players.
He also expressed his annoyance at the Lega Serie A’s decision to schedule the match for Sunday, considering that Roma had played in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
In response, Lega Serie A Chief Luigi De Siervo said, “I respect Mourinho and his contributions to Roma, but, to be honest, his comments came across as making excuses for the loss. He is a professional who understands the dynamics of the sporting world. Just look at Barcelona, which had to play in the Champions League and then face Real Madrid in El Clasico at 4 pm. There was no alternative in this case; an important fixture needs to be played at the peak viewing time.“
“Serie A is truly remarkable. We are witnessing an intense battle at the top of the table,” De Siervo continued. “Not to mention the thrilling comeback by Cagliari, who were 3-0 down and managed to beat Frosinone 4-3 on Sunday in only 20 minutes. The league is highly competitive, and in the last four years, the title has been won by four different clubs.”
Roma had requested that their match against Inter be rescheduled for Monday evening, coinciding with the Empoli–Atalanta and Lazio–Fiorentina matches. This is not the first time that Mourinho and Tiago Pinto have expressed dissatisfaction with scheduling of their games following European commitments.
