Jose Mourinho has claimed he felt “almost caged” in England, as he was unable to speak about match officials during his spells managing Chelsea and Manchester United.
The Portuguese, who was sacked by United in December 2018, was sanctioned on more than one occasion, during his time in the Premier League for criticising officials in interviews with the media.
And Mourinho has suggested he was unfairly punished, insisting that he was given “ridiculous small fines” and that the English Football Association would sanction him even if he praised a match official.
“I lived in England most of those years [the 15 years since he left Portugal].
“I also spent some years in Spain where we walked there in the same habitat. Italy not so much. Italy really likes the game, the tactics. I usually have people talking about it, more polemic, less polemic, more aggressiveness, less aggressiveness, but they are people of great credibility and you have great names in football to discuss about football.
“But in England it’s day and night. For example, I’ve sometimes felt almost caged because you can’t even comment on the referee before the game. I was punished and well punished for pre-match statements and statements such as ‘I hope the referee is very well, that he resists pressure from Anfield Road, that he has an excellent performance’. This is forbidden. This is considered to somehow induce the referee, put some kind of pressure on him.
“Even speaking well of the referee, as I did, I was punished. In Portugal, you tell referees what you want, before the game, during and after the game, you’re punished with ridiculous small fines. There’s total impunity. And we’re talking only at this level. And then obviously we’re a country that should like this.
“The kind of TV shows that exist in Portugal and that exist simultaneously in three, four, five different channels and that are repeated from Monday to Sunday and that survive, is because Portuguese people like this. So maybe we have the football we want to have,” Mourinho told Eleven Sports.
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