Monday 23 February 2015 10:31, UK
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho pulled no punches on a variety of topics during a surprise interview on Goals on Sunday.
The Chelsea manager saw his Premier League leaders held 1-1 by relegation-threatened Burnley at Stamford Bridge on Saturday in a match shrouded in controversy.
Mourinho felt his side deserved to be awarded two penalties and slammed the decision to send off Nemanja Matic for his reaction to a challenge from Ashley Barnes, who also appeared to catch Branislav Ivanovic with a dangerous first-half challenge.
But he also spoke out on a number of topics - from video technology and refereeing decisions to Louis van Gaal and Arsene Wenger.
Here's what the enigmatic Portuguese, making an impromptu appearance on the Goals on Sunday sofa, told Ben Shephard and Chris Kamara:
ON BURNLEY DRAW
"What can I say that everybody doesn't know? There are things in matches where there is space for discussion and different explanations and points of view. There are actions where there is only one point of view.
"Yesterday I was saying in a press conference that commentators, pundits and people in the media naturally are a bit disturbed when you have a clear caller. I can't imagine that the four incidents of this game are open to interpretation.
"It is what it is. I think if you say it in a way where you go over the line with your comments, I think it's understandable but if you just say what is obvious, without attacking the integrity of the people, if you're just honest and objective in your comments then it shouldn't be a problem.
"At half-time, Burnley should be playing with 10 men and Chelsea should have two penalties. Normally, we win 3-0 or - let's put in the possibility of missing one of the penalties - we win 2-0 and play against 10 men. The reality is that in the end, we play with 10 men and lost two points.
"The arm [Michael Kightly's] stopped the ball from hitting the target. There is no space for interpretation. He's far away - he's not a metre or a few inches. The ball is hitting the target. The players are taught to keep their balance, even in difficult situations in the box. Difficult biomechanical actions in putting the arms behind the body.
"For me, it's a penalty everywhere.
"The best players in the world can make mistakes. They miss penalties. The best goalkeepers make mistakes. This gentlemen is one of the top referees in European football. He can also make mistakes. He made important mistakes yesterday.
"I know to be a referee is so difficult. Sometimes I referee in the training session and I ask for assistance. But there are situations that are not open to interpretation."
ON BARNES' TACKLE ON MATIC
"This could be end of career. Because I can't find another adjective stronger, I just say this is end of career. Matic is a lucky guy.
"Another club would maybe have the power to appeal and as I was listening yesterday to people with some good feeling of honesty. It comes from people without any connection with Chelsea and comes from people with miles and miles on the pitch at a high level.
"I can't find the word to describe what that player did. I can clearly understand that football is about emotions and sometimes you lose emotions. Clearly Matic had a reason to lose his emotions. What could be the consequence of his push for the other player? Nothing. The consequence for Matic could be end of career."
ON DIEGO COSTA CRITICISM
"When you say Diego Costa 'crimes' you cannot say a harsh tackle [for Barnes]. You have to say a criminal tackle. When you say Diego's 'crimes'... did you [Sky] apologise to Chelsea or to Diego or to myself? You didn't.
"When Diego Costa has a three-match ban, probably three matches to Matic... tell me how many matches this player [Barnes] deserves?
"If Diego gets a three-match ban. How many does this player get?
"I’m sorry because I don’t want to forget. It’s not because I’m in your house [on Goals on Sunday] that I’m not going to be honest with myself.
"When I finished the game against Liverpool I went to the dressing room and immediately the first thing I saw - because we have a big screen in the dressing room for the match analysis at half-time and at the end of the game it becomes television - I was reading non-stop 'Diego Costa crimes'.
"I don’t like the use of the language and I don’t like the fact that in my opinion you start in that moment the public judgement of the player.
"You don’t do this with every club, you don’t do this with every player. Last year, Yaya Toure against Norwich you did not have the same approach. This season, Robin van Persie against West Ham you didn’t have the same approach. Yesterday you didn’t have the same approach and I don’t even want to compare Yaya, with Robin, with Diego and what happened yesterday. What happened yesterday was similar to what happened to Hazard at Stoke. This one yesterday is even worse because it can be the end of his career."
ON REFEREE MARTIN ATKINSON
"Yes, I spoke to the referee. Mr Atkinson told me he didn’t have the chance to see it on TV. He was in the dressing room and didn’t have the chance to see it. I asked him if he’d had any contact by phone with family, with friends or with referees to get some feedback and he said: 'No, not at all'.
"And he said any one of the four incidents I spoke about with him he didn’t see. Or he saw what he decided. So for him there was no reason for a card in the first action. No reason for a penalty and no reason for a card in the second moment.”
ON PARIS RACISM INCIDENT
"Our reaction couldn’t be better because Chelsea’s reaction as a club was absolutely fantastic. Chelsea couldn’t do more than they did. In this moment we can only repeat everything we were told. Everything Chelsea is doing and no more than that.
"Again, when I use the word ashamed of, I repeat should I, should I be ashamed of what two or three people did? Are these people representing my club? Is Chelsea this? Not at all. Because of that we feel very sorry to be connected with these people."
ON FIVE-POINT GAP
"If you're asking me about the five points difference I would say, if we're in a normal situation where mistakes are part of the game at this point, we are talking about the points at Tottenham, the points at Southampton and we would be 12 points ahead."
ON TECHNOLOGY
"If the referee can't see a penalty three metres in front of him, an official in front of a screen can't miss it. If we want to protect the integrity of the referee and believe that the mistake is the consequence of misinterpretation or a bad position, I think technology can help."
ON MANCHESTER CITY
"I was expecting them to win. I don’t think Newcastle is the kind of team, in spite of their victory in the Capital One Cup, to go to the home of a big team and make it really difficult. I think they feel much more comfortable when they are playing at home than when they are playing away. Obviously 5-0 is a huge result but I was expecting the three points.
"They have so many good players but obviously David [Silva] is important for them. He occupies different areas on the pitch. It doesn’t matter where he plays, on the right or the left or behind the striker, he’s a fantastic player.”
ON FRANK LAMPARD
"We let him go for different reasons. First of all, I think the motivation Frank has to have this role at City wouldn't be the same motivation he has to have the same role at Chelsea.
"Secondly, we open the door for him to choose his future and we thought he'd go to the States and would come back after a couple of years to do what he wants. We would have found a new department for him! What he did for Chelsea for more than one decade was something amazing.
"Yes, of course [he's one of the best players I've managed]. A midfielder player doesn’t score so many goals. It’s as simple as that and I think his career was based on an unbelievable number of goals he scored from midfield. That made him a unique player because I had so many good midfield players but a player to score this number of goals is amazing."
ON RETURNING TO CHELSEA
"I'd won everything in those three countries and then I knew what I wanted. I could choose where I wanted to go - not in terms of clubs but in terms of countries. I know where my family likes to be and where they were happier and Chelsea was my first love outside my country.
"I am enjoying my players. With so many years of football, the best moments, the best motivation is when you have a special feeling with your players. My best seasons are exactly in these moments where I feel a real connection with the players - when I feel a real pleasure to work with them, to be with them. They are a good group of guys. Some are already in the last phase of their careers but not many. Most of them have dreams to reach and I’m really happy to work with them."
ON BEING SPECIAL
"I am a special one, not the special one. Go back and you will see. I am a special one."
ON LOUIS VAN GAAL
"He's a fantastic coach and a fantastic person. I know him so well. Players need to adapt and understand to perform at the highest level and it's the same with us. I think Louis will have his time to make United win titles again. This season they have a chance in the FA Cup and a chance to finish in the top four and go back to the Champions League."
ON ARSENE WENGER
"He has a dream job that we'd all love to have. I think every manager in the world would like the stability by being here year after year after year, to buy to sell and rebuild and wait and wait for success."
ON ARSENAL
"I don’t understand why they are not where we are with Man City because I like that team very much. I think they have very good players. Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck are very important to add to an already very good squad. I think they are a team with more to give."
Watch Jose Mourinho's Goals on Sunday interview again at 6.40pm on Sunday, Sky Sports 3.
