José Mourinho has suggested he would have been heavily sanctioned by the game’s authorities had he shoved a rival coach, as Arsène Wenger pushed him at Stamford Bridge two weeks ago, with the Chelsea manager also sarcastically claiming he has “a lot to learn about how to behave” from Paul Lambert and Roy Keane after their recent criticisms.
While the Aston Villa staff’s frustrations had been born of Mourinho’s attempts to shake their hands before the final whistle as the London club prevailed 3-0 last month, the incident with Wenger drew the focus during the first half of the derby win over Arsenal just before the international window. Wenger had been enraged by Gary Cahill’s foul on Alexis Sánchez in front of the home dugout and walked down the touchline, apparently to check on his player, only for Mourinho to bar entry into the Chelsea technical area.
The Frenchman pushed the Portuguese in the chest, and raised his hands again in the confusion which followed, before the referee Martin Atkinson and the fourth official Jonathan Moss restored order. The incident had been observed at the time by the officials, who deemed no further sanction necessary and therefore, effectively, ensured the Football Association would not impose retrospective action.
The Chelsea manager was fined three times last season by the FA – for his manner on the touchline against Cardiff and Aston Villa, and for his sarcastic appraisal of the officials following a loss to Sunderland – with his assistant, Rui Faria, receiving a six-match stadium ban for his furious reaction on the sidelines during the defeat to the Wearsiders. Yet he hinted at double standards when it came to dealing with the incident with Wenger. “No, I’m not surprised (Wenger was not charged), not surprised,” said Mourinho, who was then asked if he would expect to have been charged had he committed the same offence. “Charged?” he replied. “Charged? For me [it would have been] a stadium ban.”
Keane and Lambert were more unimpressed with his eagerness to shake their hands early, branding the action “disgraceful” and “disrespectful”. The Villa assistant manager subsequently suggested Mourinho “would get knocked out” if he attempted such an action during a Sunday League fixture. “I don’t know if (Keane) really feels it, or if he wants to sell books and needs my help for that,” said Mourinho. “But I know my nature, I know my intentions. From people like him and his boss, I think I have a lot to learn about how to behave and I appreciate the comment. They are both two great examples of polite and very well educated people, and because I’m a humble guy who tries to learn every day and with every experience, I appreciate the comments.
“The moment I consider fundamental is to shake hands before the match and, before the match in my house [home stadium], it’s my responsibility. So I always go to the opponents’ dugout, or in the tunnel before the game. I’m not doing the handshake for the pictures, but as a courtesy. That I always do. After the game, it depends on you, on the others. It’s not a problem for me. But I repeat: I listen to the comments and I try to learn.”
The 51-year-old has made a habit of shaking hands early, having previously done so with Sir Alex Ferguson when winning at Manchester United and with Louis van Gaal in the 2010 Champions League final. He did so with Jens Keller during the draw with Schalke earlier this season, and indicated he will continue to offer his hand early, perhaps starting at Selhurst Park on Saturday. Chelsea lost to Crystal Palace there last season and go into this fixture with Diego Costa’s involvement still in doubt, the Spain forward having spent the week undergoing treatment on his thigh having played 172 minutes for his country against Slovakia and Luxembourg over the international window.
Costa remains in need of a prolonged period of rest, with Chelsea considering when best to impose that given the midweek Champions League game against Maribor and next Sunday’s trip to Old Trafford. Didier Drogba is still struggling with an ankle injury, leaving Loïc Rémy as the only fully-fit forward in the squad.
“I gave my Spain players two days off, Monday and Tuesday, and told them to report to training on Wednesday at 3pm,” added Mourinho. “And Diego was here on Monday at 9am. So you can imagine how strong he was to be here at that time.”