Mourinho criticises VAR official Banti after Roma's defeat

Jose Mourinho has questioned the decision making of VAR official Luca Banti following Roma's defeat to Fiorentina.

Roma suffered a 2-0 defeat, which represents a blow to their hopes of finishing in the top six in Serie A. 

It was a disastrous start for Mourinho's side as they conceded two goals in eleven minutes, but the Roma boss was adamant that the decision to award Fiorentina a penalty was incorrect. 

Rick Karsdorp caught Nico Gonzalez's shin, but the penalty decision seemed rather harsh.

Gonzalez stepped up to score from the spot in the fifth minute, with Giacomo Bonaventura proceeding to make it 2-0 just six minutes later. 

Mourinho acknowledged that his team was tired following their exploits in the Europa Conference League, but he was still livid with the officiating. 

Speaking to DAZN, Mourinho said: ‘What’s happening is frankly too much. We want an explanation. We want respect.

'The explanation… we've been waiting for an explanation for a long time and we have no explanation.

'There is a double explanation tonight. Obviously, after Thursday's game we were certainly lacking physical and mental energy, compared to a side that had all week to prepare.

'But I want to hear the explanation from Mr Banti of Livorno, which is not far from here. I already saw the footage, it's a touch, not a foul. The referee was close by and did not give a penalty. In the VAR room, Mr Banti intervened.'

Mourinho accepted that Fiorentina, who are now level on points with Roma, deserved to win the game.

However, he again criticised Bardi, stating that such situations are occurring too frequently. 

Mourinho said: 'Aside from the penalty, Fiorentina were also stronger, they played at a different tempo and with concentration, so they