A La Liga coach embarrasses Mourinho and slaps him with a bold admission about refereeing
What's the story?
Jose Mourinho sidestepped any opinion on the controversial penalty handed to Kylian Mbappe against Racing Santander. Edin Terzic took a very different line. The Athletic Bilbao coach openly admitted his side had benefited from a contentious refereeing call against Real Sociedad, putting him in stark contrast with the Portuguese's approach to such rows.
Terzic's admission followed Athletic Bilbao's 2-1 win over Real Sociedad in the Basque derby at San Mames, in round 11 of the Spanish league. The flashpoint came before the break, when the referee awarded a penalty to Nico Williams after he went down following a collision with defender Jon Aramburu.
Real Sociedad's players protested furiously. The referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez held firm, and Alex Berenguer tucked away the spot-kick to put Bilbao ahead in a game they would go on to win.
Where many coaches dodge or defend when quizzed on contentious decisions, Terzic did neither. He said frankly: "Today I feel that we received preferential treatment."
The German added that he had not spoken about the officiating since the start of the season, despite believing his team had suffered worse calls in earlier matches. He then praised Williams's run, saying: "I liked Nico's move. You have to go into the penalty area, otherwise you won't get a penalty. He entered the area very well, and succeeded in getting a penalty for us."
Mourinho went the other way, declining to comment on the penalty awarded to Kylian Mbappe that spilled so much ink. He turned instead to the spot-kick chalked off for Racing Santander after a handball by Aurelien Tchouameni, arguing that the ball had rebounded off the Real Madrid player's body before striking his hand and so should not have been given.
Reflecting on that incident, the Portuguese said: "There is also a factor, which is that people watch matches with their hearts, and there are many who do not know the rules." He admitted he could not judge it from his seat because of the distance, but felt reassured once he had seen the replay on the tablet.
