Referee for Benfica v Real Madrid brings back bad memories for Mourinho | OneFootball

The refereeing team for the Benfica - Real Madrid match was announced today, and several of its members are not fondly remembered by José Mourinho. Davide Massa, the Italian who will officiate the match, has already sent off the Special One during his time at Roma. It happened in October 2021, in a clash with Napoli, where the Portuguese coach - who chose not to comment in the recent press conference - was penalized by the referee due to a heated exchange of words.

"There are teams that play to win the title, we do not, but we want the right to win games. I demand respect. Today we were not allowed to fight for victory, I would be ashamed to be this referee. A red card not shown to Zanoli, a penalty not awarded on Zaniolo… Today we played here without fans, but they are at home and we work hard during the week", stated the coach at the time, to DAZN.

The fourth official for the match against Real Madrid will be Luca Pairetto, who also sent José Mourinho to the locker room early in a clash between Roma and Verona. At the time, the publication 'La Stampa' reported what the Portuguese coach said to Pairetto that led to Mourinho's expulsion: "They sent you here on purpose, Juventus sent you". A statement that, at the time, caused quite a stir in Italy.

Mourinho also had a disagreement with the VAR for Wednesday's match, Gianluca Aureliano, who sent him off in a clash with Atalanta. After receiving a yellow card in the first half, Mourinho was eventually sent off for protesting towards the end of the match. A decision that led the now Eagles coach to remain silent at the end of the match, with the players also refusing to make statements in solidarity.

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