Jose Mourinho sent off as Roma finish with eight players in friendly defeat to Real Betis

Mourinho was sent off after protesting Real Betis’ third goal, which seemed to go off the attacker’s arm

Jamie Braidwood
Sunday 08 August 2021 13:40 BST
Comments
(AFP via Getty Images)

Jose Mourinho was sent off and his Roma team finished with just eight players as the Italian side suffered a 5-2 friendly defeat to Real Betis.

Mourinho furiously approached referee Jorge Figueroa after Betis’ third goal was allowed to stand, despite an apparent handball from Alex Moreno.

Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini was also sent off following the incident, which put Betis 3-2 ahead in the 57th minute, and Mourinho was sent to the stands for his protests.

Defender Gianluca Mancini was then shown a straight red card in the 65th minute before Rick Karsdorp was also dismissed with 10 minutes to go. Betis added two late goals to condemn Roma to a 5-2 defeat.

Mourinho, who joined Roma after he was sacked from Tottenham Hotspur in April, was almost on the halfway line when the referee produced his red card.

Roma begin their Serie A campaign away to Fiorentina on 22 August.

Mourinho had been linked with signing Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka for his new club, but the Gunners man now appears set to stay and pen a new deal instead.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in