ANGRY Fulham manager Roy Hodgson believes his team suffered an "injustice" in last night's 2-1 defeat to Roma in the Europa League at the Stadio Olimpico.
The visitors felt some of the decisions by referee Kevin Blom greatly hindered their chances of advancing from Group E.
Having taken a deserved 1-0 half-time lead through a Diomansy Kamara penalty, Fulham substitute Erik Nevland was shown a strai
ght red card early in the second half after his foul on Daniele De Rossi.
Roma then punished the English club with goals from John Arne Riise and Stefano Okaka to inflict Fulham's first defeat in the competition.
There was additional agony for Fulham as Paul Konchesky was sent off late in the game while they chased an equaliser.
"You cannot be happy in the face of injustice," Hodgson said. "I accept the situation because the referee makes the decision, but I'm not happy. I think the two red cards were very harsh. To play in the second half down to ten men is a bitter pill to swallow."
Fulham had gone into the game on the back of a 3-1 triumph over Liverpool and looked impressive in the opening period, just as they had been at Craven Cottage in their 1-1 draw against Roma a fortnight ago.
"It was a fantastic performance from my players in the first half," Hodgson said. "We have been better than Roma when playing 11 against 11 in both games."
Roma coach Claudio Ranieri, meanwhile, felt the red card for Nevland was justified. "The sending off benefited us for sure," Ranieri said. "But I believe it was a red card as Nevland made the foul in a Roma counter-attack. Fulham deserved the lead in the first half, but my team did better after the re-start and we never gave up and we were rewarded."
Basel coasted to a 3-1 victory at home to Group E strugglers CSKA Sofia to go two points clear at the top of the table.
Everton's hopes of making progress in Group I were dealt a bitter blow at Goodison Park, where they lost 2-0 to Benfica.
The Portuguese visitors completed the double after a rousing second-half display to cement their place at the top of the table. In front of club legend Eusebio, they sealed the points thanks to goals from Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo.
Everton have now suffered two defeats after two wins and their match at AEK Athens next month has become crucial.
