Referees

“I prefer not to speak. If I speak I will be in trouble.”

— Chelsea, asked about the referee after a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa, 2014

“I don't like intellectual prostitution, I like intellectual honesty. … We haven't talked about Milan, who will finish the season with zero titles.”

— Inter, at a press conference after a row over a penalty against Roma, 2009

“If I tell UEFA what I really think and feel, my career would end now. Instead, I will just ask a question to which I hope one day to get a response: Why? Why Ovrebo? Why Busacca? Why De Bleeckere? Why Stark? Why? Because every semi-final the same things happen.”

— Real Madrid, after the Champions League semi-final first-leg defeat by Barcelona, 2011

“It was an intense, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time.”

— Roma, after losing the Europa League final to Sevilla on penalties, 2023

“If we have referees like this one in every match of the title contenders, the championship will be a beautiful championship and the winner will deserve to win.”

— Fenerbahçe, praising the referee after a 1-0 derby defeat at Beşiktaş, 2024

“The best thing I have to do is when I leave Fenerbahce, I go to a club that doesn't play in UEFA competition. So, if any club in England from the bottom of the table needs a coach in two years, I'm ready to go.”

— Fenerbahçe, joking after being sent off against Manchester United, 2024

“I know that Mike Dean has a difficult job. He's on the pitch and it's 200 miles an hour. I wouldn't like to be a referee because it's so difficult. Sometimes I try in training sessions and I realise that it's too difficult.”

— Tottenham, defending the referee after beating Manchester City, 2020

“I trust all the referees... whether it's the league or Champions League, before the game I always have the best feelings about the referees.”

— Real Madrid, at his press conference in Rome before the Champions League match, 2026