Roma coach Eusebio Di Francesco complained Barcelona received help from the referee on Wednesday as the La Liga leaders “unfairly” inflicted a 4-1 defeat on the Italians in the Champions League.
The Dutch referee ruled Nelson Semedo’s challenge on Dzeko in the ninth minute was legal and determined that Samuel Umtiti’s first-half foul on Lorenzo Pellegrini was outside the box.
“It’s going to be very difficult to qualify from here but it would be less difficult if the referee hadn’t helped them, especially with the big decisions,” Di Francesco said in his postgame news conference.
“But we made mistakes and we made it easy for them, which you can’t do against Barca. Daniele [De Rossi] has made a mistake, which can happen, then [Kostas] Manolas was unfortunate with the second own goal.
“Evidently that’s our fault, but Barca are good enough without help from the officials. Semedo on Dzeko is a clear penalty and then later there’s another on Pellegrini.”
Asked if he felt the scoreline was unfair, Di Francesco added: “Yes, absolutely, given how we played. We had a lot of chances. I think it’s a result that doesn’t demonstrate what we did on the pitch.
“We have to keep dreaming, though. Why not? It’s a result that favours Barca but I want my team to put on a show in front of our fans next week.”
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