Roma manager Jose Mourinho has threatened legal action after being sent off for the third time this season.
The former Chelsea and Manchester United boss had already been dismissed twice against Atalanta and Torino heading into Roma ’s showdown with Serie A minnows Cremonese on Tuesday evening. The latter were bottom of the Italian top flight before the clash but picked up a memorable 2-1 victory - their first Serie A success for 26 years.
The final whistle triggered emotional scenes in the Stadio Giovanni Zini but not for manager Mourinho who was sent off for seemingly arguing with the fourth official earlier in the evening, with the referee producing a red card. He was clearly furious on the sidelines - a theme that continued into his post-match press conference.
The 60-year-old took aim at the officials by suggesting that the fact that the fourth official was from Turin played a role in his dismissal and confirmed that he would be exploring legal avenues.
“I am emotional, but not crazy. In order to react the way I did, something had to happen first,” Mourinho said. “I need to understand if I can take any legal action.
“Piccinini gave me a red card, because unfortunately the fourth official does not have the capacity to understand what he said to me. I want to find out if there is an audio recording.
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“I don’t want to get into the fact that Serra is from Turin and on Sunday we are playing against Juventus. For the first time in my career, a fourth official spoke to me in the most incredible way. It was unjustifiable.
“At the end of the game, I went to speak to them. Piccinini, who was the fourth official in the last game when I was sent off, told me to apologise to Serra. I told Serra he should have the courage to explain what happened, but he had memory problems.”
The defeat to Cremonese is another chapter in what has been a hugely inconsistent campaign for Mourinho’s Roma. The capital outfit currently sit fifth in the Serie A standings and just one point off of the Champions League places.
They have not been able to put together a viable title challenge after winning the Europa Conference League last term though with 21 points separating them and current league leaders Napoli. Mourinho currently has just under 18 months left to serve on his contract at the Stadio Olimpico and has been linked with a return to the Premier League.
He has been touted for a third spell with Chelsea amid Graham Potter ’s struggles since becoming Thomas Tuchel’s successor at Stamford Bridge. Former Italy striker Antonio Cassano has suggested that the Portuguese would be an excellent candidate should Potter be moved on.
He said: "If Inzaghi were to be fired, I would rule out the return of Jose Mourinho. If an offer from the Premier League were to arrive, the Special One would choose England.
"The fans fell in love with his attitude [in Italy], but he intends to leave, and for me, he can only go back to Chelsea."
