What’s the story?
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has taken a swipe at his Liverpool counterpart Jurgen Klopp and suggested the German manager and Arsene Wenger gets preference ahead of him.
“If I speak I am punished. I don’t want to be punished. You [the media] simply have to just tell the truth and, if you go game after game with Manchester United and you see what happened here with Manchester City, what happened here with Burnley, what happened here with West Ham, what happened at Stoke, what happened almost everywhere, you do your job and you do a public service, I think,” Mourinho said.
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“Yesterday one fourth official told to a manager [Klopp]: ‘I enjoy very much your passion, so do what you want to do.’ Today I was told sit down or I have to send you to the stands, so everything is different for me, so don’t ask me questions that put me in a difficult situation, so to end the story.”
In case you didn’t know...
The Portuguese tactician has been involved in three incidents this season, which has seen him being either fined or given a touchline ban. Mourinho was involved in an incident where be verbally abused referee Mark Clattenburg in United’s goalless draw against Burnley.
The Manchester United manager also criticised referee Anthony Taylor for in October after his club’s game against Liverpool. Mourinho was charged by the Football Association, which saw him serve a one-match touchline ban and a pay a fine of £58,000.
Later in November, he was sent to the stands and charged with misconduct for kicking a bottle in United’s draw against West Ham United. Since taking the job at Old Trafford, Mourinho has been involved in three incidents and has been charged by the FA on each occasion.
The heart of the matter
Klopp confirmed that his behaviour towards the fourth official in the Reds’ 1-1 draw against Chelsea was labelled as “passion” by the man in charge, Neil Swarbrick. Arsene Wenger received a four-match ban for pushing a fourth official in Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Burnley last month.
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Mourinho, who expressed his unhappiness to the fourth official during United’s dull 0-0 draw against Hull, which saw him receive a warning. He believes that there is preferential treatment for other managers in the Premier League.
What’s next?
Mourinho will not be fined or reprimanded after the Hull City game and refused to criticise or comment on the referee’s performance post the game.
Sportskeeda’s take
The Manchester United manager needs to be cautious with his comments and it is something Mourinho himself touched upon in his post match comments. With Klopp revealing the fourth official’s comments after Liverpool’s draw against Chelsea, it could be the achilles heel for the FA if they refuse to take action against Swarbrick.
