Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has made a fresh attack on his fierce nemesis Arsene Wenger by sarcastically stating that it is “in the rules book”, he can get away with criticizing referees, pushing his rivals and is also under far less pressure than other managers. The Blues’ boss did not mention Wenger’s name, but it was quite clear as he reacted to the Diego Costa’s ban, after the Premier League giants clashed last weekend.
Talking about the whole thing, Mourinho stated, “No comment”. I tell you why. In the rules book it says some managers can speak about the referees before and after games. Some others cannot. Then comes the list. I am in the list of those who are punished if they speak about the referees before the game. I have to stick to that rule book and I am in the list of those who cannot speak about the referees.”
“You know that some can. An imaginary list, but clearly.”
The Portuguese boss was further asked if he had sympathy for under-fire Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren, he added, “In this country, only one manager is not under pressure. Every other manager is. I am under pressure, Steve is under pressure, (Manuel) Pellegrini is under pressure, Brendan (Rodgers) too. We cannot be below par. We have to meet the objectives. I have sympathy with all of them, because it’s a difficult job. There’s one outside that list, but good for him. I have sympathy for Steve.”
When asked to pushed to name Wenger, Mourinho said: “You know. The one who can speak about the referees before the game, after the game, can push people in the technical area, can moan, can cry in the morning in the afternoon, nothing happens. He cannot achieve, keep his job, still be the king. I say just one.”
Talking about Gabriel’s suspension, he stated, “One of the things that was clear in football was that, when a player reacts to something that happened before – like (Nemanja) Matic reacting last season after a criminal tackle (against Burnley) – retaliation (is that the correct word?) was always punished in football. Now we know it isn’t always. You can do that. You can do that.”
Chelsea received the written reasons for Costa’s ban and the former Real Madrid boss stated, “I can’t answer. No. Because if I answer I’ll be suspended,” he said. “I don’t want to touch the theme and everything that surrounds that situation because I want to be on the bench.”
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