Jose Mourinho accused of 'unsportsmanlike behaviour' at Roma Under-14 game

02 March 2023 , 13:04

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Jose Mourinho isn't one to shy away from controversy

Jose Mourinho has been accused of unsporting behaviour by the coach of Lazio's Under-14 team after the Roma boss allegedly booed one of his players.

Mourinho is claimed to have booed Lazio teenager Alexandru Milou while he was taking a penalty and is alleged to have encouraged his Roma players to waste time during the match, in order to upset their opponents.

The latest episode of drama comes in the same week Mourinho was sent off for the third time this season during the professional team's shock defeat by Cremonese, which was their first Serie A win of the campaign.

A furious Mourinho told reporters after the Cremonese match: "I am emotional, but not crazy. In order to react the way I did, something had to happen first. I need to understand if I can take any legal action.

"Piccinini gave me a red card because, unfortunately, the fourth official does not have the capacity to understand what he said to me. I want to find out if there is an audio recording."

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Mourinho continued: "I don't want to get into the fact that Serra is from Turin and on Sunday we are playing against Juventus. For the first time in my career, a fourth official spoke to me in the most incredible way. It was unjustifiable.

Mourinho celebrated with Roma's Under-14 team after they defeated Lazio on Sunday

Mourinho is facing a two-game ban after being sent-off in the Serie A loss at Cremonese (Getty Images)

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"At the end of the game, I went to speak to them. Piccinini, who was the fourth official in the last game when I was sent off, told me to apologise to Serra. I told Serra he should have the courage to explain what happened, but he had memory problems."

The day before that, Mourinho took in Roma's youth team clash against city rivals Lazio.

As detailed by Corriere dello Sport, the images of the Portuguese celebrating with his club's teenagers after the encounter went viral – but Lazio were less than happy with his alleged behaviour during the game.

Mourinho is said to have booed Milou's penalty, which was scored, before encouraging his players to waste time to ensure they won the game. This drew the ire of Lazio under-14 coach Tobia Assumma, who is quoted as saying after the match: "No mister, this is not done."

Footage subsequently was published on Instagram of Milou being booed while his penalty was taken during the game, but there is no conclusive proof that Mourinho was among those jeering.

Colin Millar