"Enormous responsibility of the referee and VAR"

POST-MATCH

José Mourinho  was blunt in his analysis of Benfica-Casa Pia (2-2), blaming the refereeing team, in particular VAR, for the way the Liga Betclic match unfolded on Sunday, November 9, at Estádio da Luz. At issue was the play that led to the penalty kick that resulted in the visitors' first goal.

UNEXPLAINABLE PENALTY REOPENED THE GAME

"Our fault, the referee's fault, VAR's fault. The referee's fault for awarding a penalty that is classified by UEFA, FIFA, and everywhere else as a non-penalty. I think it was a mistake, and I'm being kind by calling it a mistake, an even bigger mistake by VAR, whose mission is to help the referee avoid making mistakes, especially gross mistakes, and I'm being kind by saying mistakes. I think [there is] enormous blame for a flagrant mistake by the referee and VAR. It's our fault because we didn't close out the game completely. I would say that, at 2-0, we closed it out, then the referee and VAR opened it up again. But even in the first half, we have to close it out. We were playing against a team that was only defending, we were playing against a team that couldn't get out, that we completely dominated. We recovered the ball super fast. We played against a very low block — and we don't have much presence in the area, but even so, we built a lot on the right, on the left, in the middle — we recovered the ball quickly, we put a lot of intensity into the game, and after 1-0, the intensity dropped. We reached halftime and Enzo [Barrenechea] was sick. And I — precisely to send a message to the team that we were winning 1-0 but had to close out the game — didn't put a defensive player in that position, I didn't make a like-for-like substitution. I put Prestianni on precisely to send that signal to the team, that we're going to finish the game as quickly as possible. We did it, or we thought we had done it, and then, I repeat, the penalty awarded by the referee and VAR reopened the game. When it reopened, we regained control, we regained the initiative, we didn't drop back on the field. And then we made a mistake in possession, and a team that hadn't had a single shot on goal was lucky enough to score. The conclusion of the story: it's our fault — when I say our fault, I mean the players and the coach — and a huge responsibility on the part of the referee and, in this case, VAR, in an inexplicable way. And I'd rather leave it there, because I don't want to go down different paths."

"MANY PEOPLE DO NOT RESPECT BENFICA"

"The analysis: there are no words. The only words are to say that Benfica deserves more respect from everyone. When I say everyone, I also mean my players. I'm not talking about myself, because I have endless respect for Benfica, but it may be that some players don't yet know what Benfica is all about. And more respect from many people who I feel don't respect Benfica at the moment. There is a glaring double standard at all levels, whether in the media, refereeing, and possibly institutionally. Benfica is too big and deserves another kind of respect, but what depends on me is my contact with the players, it's the day-to-day work, and that's where I have to act. Because there are people who have to understand that Benfica demands the utmost and — even when we may not be the best coach in the world, the best player in the world — we have to have the highest standards and the utmost responsibility. But over the past few weeks, I have witnessed several situations that hurt me deeply, that make me think things I would rather not think. But there are things that are being taken to the limit. For example, yesterday [Saturday] I received a small excerpt from a comment — I don't know whether to call it a comment or the haters of the new generation — from someone who deeply insulted 60-odd thousand Benfica fans. It stinks when this is allowed at a professional level, it's too much."

PRESSURE ON PLAYERS AND NEGATIVITY

"[Did you speak to the referee at the end to ask for an explanation?] No, no, I was trying to get director Mário Branco to stay put with the red card the referee showed him and to control his emotions a little, which were obviously running high. [What should referees do?] The problem is that there are countries where football comes before club loyalty, and there are other countries where club loyalty comes before football. In Portugal, by our nature, club loyalty comes first. And there are clubs that are happy, there are clubs that are not, and there are clubs that are. As long as this is the case, it is complicated. One thing I would like to have the opportunity to do — but I don't think I will — was to ask today's VAR why they did not intervene. I would like to ask, as I don't have the opportunity to speak to them directly, I would like those responsible to explain why. Because the referee on the field made a mistake, but VAR allowed that mistake — I repeat, mistake, in quotation marks, and I'm being nice — I would like to understand. But the reality is just one: we lost two points and others gained two points. That's how championships are won, that's how championships are lost, but I can't separate — because that's the way I am — what happened and what is happening at the refereeing level, and what the football team is, which, even with these kinds of situations, has to do more and better. One thing that really worries me is that the players feel this pressure. They carry it with them, from the comments they make. Even before things happened today, from the comments they make, from the way they view certain situations, the players carry with them the weight of what they feel, because these are things that, they say, come from the past, things they say they have been feeling for two years now, that they feel strongly about certain things. I try to take the other approach, I try to focus on what our mission is as coaches and players, but it's a weight they carry, and when you carry that negativity, it's more complicated."