Mourinho defends Juventus taunts
turin — Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho defended his taunting of Juventus supporters after his side’s sensational late revival which saw them grab a 2-1 win over the Italians and boost their chances of reaching the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Former United player Cristiano Ronaldo had given Juventus a deserved lead in the second half but despite being outplayed for almost the entirety of the game, United struck back with a free kick from Juan Mata in the 86th minute and a scrappy own goal in stoppage time which UEFA credited to Leonardo Bonucci.
“If you understand Italian you will know that I was insulted by them for 90 minutes. I didn’t offend anyone, I just made a gesture to tell them that I wanted to hear them louder,” Mourinho told reporters after cupping his ear to the home fans at the final whistle, prompting a cascade of howling whistles. “I probably shouldn’t have done it, and with a cool head I wouldn’t have. But with my family insulted, including my Inter Milan family, I reacted like this.”
Mourinho’s reaction came on the day that the Football Association (FA) said it would appeal against a decision which saw him escape punishment for an alleged foulmouthed outburst in Portuguese in front of television cameras following his side’s 3-2 win over Newcastle United last month.
An independent regulatory commission had cleared Mourinho of the charge on Oct. 31 after consulting language experts. When quizzed in a post-match interview with BT Sport about what had prompted his gesture to the Juventus fans and animated confrontation with some of their players after the game, Mourinho appeared to send a thinly veiled message to English football’s organising body. —