MOUR & PEACE
Conte and Jose in uneasy truce ahead of Old Trafford shakedown
ANTONIO CONTE called a flimsy ceasefire in his bitter feud with Jose Mourinho – but refused to say if he would shake hands tomorrow.
Chelsea head for their topfour showdown against Manchester United with the slanging match between the managers suspended by an uneasy truce.
Conte did not disguise his enduring contempt for United boss Mourinho after the pair traded insults about senility and match-fixing earlier this term. Neither man slipped back into trash-talk amid fears of touchline bans if the FA took a dim view of renewed barbs or acrimony
spilling onto the pitch. But Chelsea manager Conte refused to elaborate FIVE times when asked if he would shake hands with Mourinho, saying: “In the past, both of us have said things.
“As for me, it’s OK – I’m not interested in speaking about this topic. The situation has stopped.”
In December, after Mourinho made pointed remarks about rival managers who behave like “clowns” on the touchline, Conte returned serve by suggesting the United boss was suffering from early-onset dementia. As the tit-for-tat spiralled out of control, Mourinho (right) responded by reheating allegations of matchfixing against Conte during his reign as the Juventus coach seven years ago.
The Italian was cleared of any skulduggery. Conte supplied the final insult in the spat, calling Mourinho a “little man” and suggesting their feud would reach boiling point this weekend.
But there appears to have been a pact between the clubs not to stoke further ill-feeling.