NO TRUCE AT CHRISTMAS FOR WENGER
From Back Page Mourinho’s message was authentic. Wenger’s hackles were then raised when Mourinho was spotted shaking hands with his coaching staff moments before the final whistle.
The Arsenal manager interpreted the Chelsea boss’s actions as a deliberate attempt to unsettle him and that was amplified when Mourinho sprinted down the tunnel at the end of the match.
Mourinho, who branded Wenger ‘ a sick voyeur’ earlier in the season, wanted to bury the hatchet after their high-profile dispute but it appears the Arsenal manager has no intention of calling a Christmas truce.
The Chelsea boss, whose side are now 20 points clear of Arsenal in the Premiership, is understood to be embarrassed that his comments last m o n t h c a u s e d such controversy, but he was ignored by the Arsenal boss throughout Sunday’s match.
High-ranking officials from both clubs, who have swapped Christmas cards, are baffled by the extraordin a r y d i s p u t e b e t w e e n t h e i r managers.
Mourinho and We n g e r h a v e talked at length during the Elite Clubs’ Coaching Forum in Geneva in each of the past two seasons and even shared a taxi from the airport to the hotel. So their failure even to shake hands at the final whistle on Sunday adds to the bafflement.
Sam Allardyce believes the managers’ Continental backgrounds may have something to do with the dispute.
The Bolton manager said: ‘Perhaps that is the foreign element in play ( not to shake hands). I don’t think that is the British way.’
League Managers’ Association chief John Barnwell refused to condemn the spat.
He said: ‘So what if Mourinho refuses to shake Wenger’s hand? They’re grown men and it doesn’t mean they don’t respect each other. Possibly it was just a bit of emotion bubbling to the surface.’
Wenger is set to escape an FA charge despite calling Sunday’s referee Rob Styles part of the Chelsea team.
Soho Square have written to the Arsenal boss asking him to explain his criticism, but Wenger is likely to be let off with a warning.