Jose Mourinho locks horns with referee after storming onto the pitch, handed red card

Portuguese football manager Jose Mourinho was involved in a heated on-field clash on Sunday after he was shown a red card by the referee. The incident took place in the first half of the Roma vs Atalanta, Serie A 2022-23 match on Sunday. 

After Atalanta defender Caleb Okoli took down Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo inside the box, Roma players appealed for a VAR check, as Mourinho also found difficulties in controlling his emotions. The Roma head coach stormed onto the pitch, urging officials to go for the VAR check, but was greeted with a red card shortly. 

Angry with the card, Mourinho further lost his cool and tried to confront the referee, which could have led to both individuals colliding. The coach was then held back by his support staff nearby. He later spoke to the reporters about his outburst.

Jose Mourinho's angry outburst during Serie A game leads to a red card; Watch

'I told him I want to be the best possible coach': Jose Mourinho

As reported by romapress.net, on being asked about the incident involving the referee, Mourinho said he wanted to ask the referee, why they were not given a penalty in the first half of the game. “I told him I want to be the best possible coach in the world, telling my players not to dive if they can continue the action, I asked him if it is impossible to give a penalty if the player does not throw himself on the ground,” Mourinho told reporters.

“If he says yes, I change my training with my players and tell them to go for it. He didn’t answer me. I wanted an objective answer and his observer politely replied that it depends on the criteria, and he didn’t answer me,” the Roma coach added. His actions will now make him miss the match against his former club Inter Milan at the San Siro stadium on October 1. He was earlier handed a two-game suspension, alongside a 20,000 euros fine for his angry outburst during Roma’s 2-2 draw against Verona in February. 

Roma's second defeat of Serie A 2022-23 season

Coming back to the Roma vs Atlanta match, the visiting Atlanta side won the match 1-0, courtesy of Giorgio Scalvini’s strike in the 35th minute. This was Roma’s second loss of the season as they currently find themselves placed at 6th in the Serie A points table with four wins and one draw. Napoli leads the table with five wins and two draws from the seven matches they have played this season.