There's another war of words going on. This time it's about Mourinho going on a seven-minute rant against the media ‘conspiracy’ to make his club seem favoured by referees.
Mourinho:
“There has been the greatest amount of intellectual manipulation,”
“There was a concerted, organised effort to manipulate public opinion. It was fantastic work but it is unrelated to my world - I work in football.
“I don't like intellectual prostitution - I like honesty,”
“Over the last few days nobody has mentioned that Roma have great players but will end the season without a title.
“Nobody has mentioned that Milan have 11 fewer points than us and will end the season without a title.
“Nobody has spoken about Juventus, who have won so many points thanks to refereeing mistakes.
“We have only won one game thanks to a mistake and that was the Siena match.
“Claudio Ranieri said he is shoulder to shoulder with Luciano Spalletti? Well, I will side with all the Coaches who have fallen foul against Juventus - Cesare Prandelli, Pasquale Marino, Gigi Del Neri…
“Every time I turn on the TV I see Spalletti, who is everyone's friend, but I don't like prime time television.
“I don't know whether these people pay to be interviewed. I know that they offer me money for interviews and I refuse because I don't manipulate reality.”
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Juventus President Giovanni Cobolli Gigli:
“You could see on the slow motion replay that it was not a penalty on [Mario] Balotelli,”
“It was probably not an easy decision to make for the referee in that situation. At times refereeing errors go in favour, at other times against a club, but I don’t think there is any kind of voluntary malice behind them.”
“Inter have certainly not been among the most penalised, have they? The statistics say that Inter have not given away a penalty in a year.
“I can understand Roma’s recrimination. Referees must be helped to do their work well, finding solutions to increase the number of eyes watching incidents.
“[UEFA President Michel] Platini does not believe in the ‘moviola’ and suggests extra referees in the box. It’s worth experimenting, but we have to do something to find a solution.”
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official Juve press release:
“After having read with great care the serious allegations made by the Inter Coach, Juventus express their astonishment and disgust, asking Inter to publicly denounce these comments.
With his statements, the Inter Coach has not only shown a lack of respect for Juventus and their 14 million fans, but to all of Italian football.
Rather than feeding a dangerous culture of suspicion, the club representatives have a duty to show a sense of responsibility and civility – before, during and after games – to sustain the evolution of Italian football and its international image.”
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Inter statement:
“After having read with great care the official statement from Juventus FC, we underline that Jose Mourinho replied in clear and explicit fashion to an attack on the same level,”
“Our Coach expressed his ideas - without insinuation or malice, with the honesty that is his style and which is very much appreciated by this club.”
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The Italian FA could suspend Mourinho:
Jose Mourinho could be suspended after the FIGC confirmed it was “looking into his statements, which only serve to fire up tension.”
As Roma boss Luciano Spalletti received a one-match touchline ban for insulting the referee after the controversial 3-3 draw at San Siro, Mourinho is likely to follow suit.
“This only serves to fire up tension,” warned Federation President Giancarlo Abete.
“The tone adopted by the Portuguese Coach just make existing relationships even more fraught and bitter.
“His comments serve no use for the football world at all. Naturally the Disciplinary Commission is carefully evaluating the content of Mourinho’s statements.”
