Jose Mourinho has reignited his feud with Italian referee Paolo Mazzoleni following Fenerbahce's draw with Lyon. Mourinho took over the Turkish side in the summer but it has been a difficult debut campaign for the legendary boss. Fenerbahce currently sit 23rd in the Europa League and are in serious trouble of dropping out of the play-off spots altogether.
Their hopes suffered a blow on Thursday night thanks to a goalless draw with Lyon. Mazzoleni was acting as the VAR for the game and played a pivotal role in the eventual result. Mourinho was insistent that Lyon defender Saël Kumbedi was lucky on two occasions to have escaped without being shown a red card. The first incident came just after the half-hour mark following a harsh challenge on Fenerbahce midfielder Sebastian Szymański.
The Lyon star was booked, with Mazzoleni opting against intervening, leaving the Fenerbahce boss furious. He said: "The referee made a mistake by giving just a yellow card to Kumbedi for the foul on Szymański. "The VAR is there to help the referee when the referee makes a mistake and he didn't call him, because if the referee goes to the screen he gives the red card.
"It was Mr. Paolo Mazzoleni, very famous in Italy by the way, that didn't call the referee. The referee's mistakes on the pitch are acceptable, the VAR is there to work and it didn't.". HAVE YOUR SAY! Who will win the Europa League? Comment below. Mazzoleni did get involved just before half-time when Lyon defender Moussa Niakhaté was shown a red card by referee Simone Sozza for a sliding challenge on Fenerbahce's Irfan Can Kahveci. Sozza overturned his initial decision to a yellow card after reviewing it, with Mourinho again unimpressed.
