Jose Mourinho rips referee after Roma derby loss to Lazio

Jose Mourinho said the referees that presided over Roma’s 3-2 loss to rivals Lazio were “not at the right level” after his side dropped the five-goal Serie A thriller on Sunday.

The Portuguese manager saw Roma give up three goals, but he still targeted the officials in his postgame comments. Head referee Marco Guida dished out six bookings for the typical chippy Rome derby — but Mourinho felt the match was undone by his grip on the whistle.

“It was a difficult game because of the referee since he practically decided the game,” Mourinho said. “The referee wasn’t at the level of this game.

“It should not have been 2-0 [for Lazio],” he said. “It should’ve been 1-1. We should’ve had a chance to make it 1-1 with a penalty for us. And the referee decided not to [award it]. It’s even more surprsing that the VAR decided against it.

“The [lack of a] second yellow for [Lazio’s] Lucas Leiva — he didn’t want to [give it],” Mourinho continued. “For this reason there’s frustration. But it’s a team with a tremendous desire, fighting to the end, dominating. The opponent played on the counterattack and we were trying to do it all. OK, there were a couple of defensive errors, but the team was very good. I’m very proud of them.

“When you lose a game like this, if you want to go to dinner you should go. If you want to go take a walk tomorrow, you should … because we were the best team on the field and the referee was decisive on the result. The players showed tremendous heart. Obviously, we’re sad. But being sad is one thing. It’s another thing to be frustrated with your play and with the desire you showed. For me, the players are untouchable.”

The loss against Lazio hands Roma their second defeat in their last three league games, which has checked their stride as they attempt to keep pace with the summit. The Giallorossi sit in fourth place on 12 points (4-2-0 record), six behind leaders Napoli.

Roma will host Empoli on Matchday 7 next Sunday, but first will turn its attention toward Europa Conference League play in midweek. Mourinho’s men travel to face Ukraine’s Zorya Luhansk this week in the Europa Conference League as they look to back up their 5-1 group-opening drubbing of Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia.