Mourinho slams refereeing in Benfica v Rio Ave: Is this the new football | OneFootball

José Mourinho was not at all happy with the refereeing team at the end of the Benfica - Rio Ave match. The Benfica coach spoke to Sporttv’s microphones in the usual flash interview after the match, in which his team was leading, but ended up conceding the equalizer already in stoppage time.

"Poor first half... Good second half, within our limitations, it was good. Dominant, aggressive, with chances, always playing in the opponent’s half in an aggressive way. The two players who came on gave the game a different character," José Mourinho began, analyzing the match.

Then, the Benfica coach had a few words for the refereeing team, particularly regarding the disallowed goal due to a foul by Otamendi. The play was overturned by VAR for an alleged stamp by the Argentine center-back on the opposing player at the moment of the assist to António Silva.

"If this is the new football, where a goal is disallowed because one toe steps on another toe, I don’t like it, but we have to accept it as such," said José Mourinho, referring to the foul spotted by the match referee, which ended up disallowing Benfica’s goal.

He finished with the following: "Then we score, after trying so hard. And then comes a moment when you simply cannot concede. It’s unfair, it’s a terrible result for us. I repeat, with a poor first half, but a good second half. The game was what Rio Ave wanted, and what the referee allowed. What we have to do is play 90 minutes like we played in the second half."

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.