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Cape Town - Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho blamed a not-given penalty as a reason his team were unable to beat Southampton at Old Trafford following a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
The crucial moment came in the 32nd minute when Maya Yoshida handled in the box, but referee Craig Pawson failed to blow his whistle, a fact that Mourinho was unhappy with.
He also went on to complain about similar decisions earlier in the season.
“I watched on the touchline and it looked for me very clear but there was 50m distance so I [at first] give the referee the benefit of the doubt,” said Mourinho.
“I know my players so when I see people like [Juan] Mata almost in hysterics I know, no doubt, and then at half-time I watch it.
“It is a penalty like [Marcus] Rashford against Leicester, [Ander] Herrera against City. [Jonathan] Moss, [Michael] Oliver and Craig tonight are good referees. So the referees’ performances in these matches were good – these were unlucky decisions that punished us.”
Mourinho then went on to talk about injuries after Romelu Lukaku was stretchered off in the first half.
“I don’t know [how serious it is],” he said. “I know that normally bad news arrives immediately and bad news didn’t arrive but to leave the pitch the way he did, we don’t think twice to make that decision immediately, because there is a problem not just for today but the next two matches I would say for sure.”
Mourinho also confirmed that Zlatan Ibrahimovic had been ruled out for a month after a setback in his recovery from a serious knee injury.
“Zlatan is out for a month. It’s the same knee,” he said.
“It’s an incredible problem, a 37-year-old man, a lion like he says, a real lion, but it’s not easy. Now he had a little recurrence and one month out.
