Jose Mourinho slammed the referee and Bodo/Glimt's artificial pitch after Roma were humiliated by the Norwegian minnows for the third time this season.
The Giallorossi lost 2-1 in their Europa Conference League quarter-final first leg, despite leading at half-time through Lorenzo Pellegrini 's opener. After historically hammering Roma 6-1 in the group phase, Bodo/Glimt once again shocked the Italian giants by coming from behind to claim victory thanks to Ulrik Saltnes' equaliser and Hugo Vetlesen's 89th-minute winner.
Mourinho's latest humiliation left him fuming and his anger was directed at Dutch official Serdar Gozubuyuk, just as he criticised a different referee when the two teams drew 2-2 in their second group-stage meeting. "When we played in Rome against them, there were two very clear penalties for us that the referee did not see," the 52-year-old reaffirmed to Sky Sport Italia post-match.
"While today there were two moves that were flagged offside and the first half ended with a ridiculous situation as the offside flag was up on a throw-in, which shows you the level."
Not only was Gozubuyuk on the end of the Mourinho's wrath, but the 'Special One' was also unhappy with Bodo/Glimt's plastic pitch, as Roma defender Gianluca Mancini was forced off with a knee injury, being replaced by ex- Manchester United centre-back Chris Smalling with the scores at 1-1.
"The two goals were from a set play and a deflection. We score a lot of goals from set play too, but it's a good one to score, a bad one to concede. The first goal was ridiculous," Mourinho admitted. "To be honest, the thing that worries me the most is the injury for Mancini. It's a concern, it's something caused by playing on a plastic turf.
"We lost 2-1, we have the second leg to play at the Olimpico in front of our fans and I have no problem saying right now that I feel we are the favourites to reach the semi-final. I have total faith in my players, in the stadium, the support from our people. Obviously, Bodo/Glimt are a difficult team, but I also have faith we will have a good referee and assistant in the second leg."
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Speaking to BT Sport, however, the former United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss insisted that the playing surface was not an excuse for his side, adding: "I don't want to give that as an excuse for anything. It's a pity that we had an important injury which I call the [type of] injuries of the plastic pitches.
"But it's out of our control, people decide that European competitions can be played on plastic pitches. A draw, I think, would be much more adept to the reality of the match."
Mourinho's complaints were echoed by captain Pellegrini, who stated: "The shame is reaching a quarter-final where the ball bounces and you have no idea where it's going to go. However, that mustn't be an excuse, because in a week's time there is a battle we want to win."
