Mourinho sends a cryptic message before Roma: ‘Watch the first minute’.. and this is exactly what happened in it

After boycotting the media following the Villarreal game, Jose Mourinho finally sat down in the press room at Rome’s Stadio Olimpico, but instead of talking directly about the refereeing he sent a cryptic message that got everyone talking.

The Portuguese coach asked journalists to watch one specific moment of the match, insisting that anyone who understands football would see everything in it.

Speaking ahead of tonight’s Champions League matchday-two clash with Roma, Mourinho said: “I’ll try to make this the last question about Villarreal. I invite you to watch the first minute of the game against Villarreal. If you want, we can talk on Saturday. The first minute is enough for those who know.”

According to Mundo Deportivo, the moment came four seconds after the first minute, when Valverde played the ball to Mbappe and the assistant raised his flag for offside. The Frenchman was not offside when he received the ball, although everything suggests he was coming back from an offside position when he controlled it.

What angered Mourinho even more, the same paper says, was that shortly afterwards Villarreal’s Ayoze received the ball between the centre-backs in a doubtful position and no offside was given, a difference in treatment that began to make the Portuguese suspicious of referee Diaz de Mera.

On his trust in referees, Mourinho said: “I trust all referees. What sounds strange to me is when it’s known who will referee three weeks before the game, when normally it should be known 24 hours before. That’s the only thing that bothers me. Apart from that I have confidence and I don’t have any negative feeling.”

On Roma, he added: “We have to play very well. Roma are a strong team, motivated to play Champions League football again at the Olimpico, with a crowd that plays. They don’t come to watch the game, they come to play. We want to win.”