Ulivieri fires back at Mourinho: ‘We are made of different dough’

Renzo Ulivieri, the President of the Italian Coaches Association, responded to Jose Mourinho after the Roma coach sniped at him in a post-match interview.

The feud stems from Mourinho’s comments after the Giallorossi’s 1-1 draw with Monza, when he blamed Daniele Chiffi and called him the ‘worst referee’ he’s ever had. Ulivieri was unimpressed with this and suggested the Portuguese coach’s statements were ‘serious and unacceptable’.

Following Roma’s defeat to Inter, Mourinho gave a post-match interview to DAZN, where he sniped at Ulivieri and his past, saying: “But it gives me joy too, because to be attacked by someone who was given a three-year ban for betting in football, that makes me happy.”

Speaking via Calciomercato.com, Ulivieri responded to Mourinho’s comments and defended himself, trying to explain the circumstances surrounding his three-year ban from football.

“I cannot respond directly to José Mourinho, not because he did not specifically mention me but because he did not go into the merits of what I said in the statement three days ago. What follows, rather, are considerations that I would like to make public in order to clarify some personal matters again.

“First: in Italy there is still democracy, in fact for the post of president of AIAC, a role that is not paid, you are elected by the coaches themselves, and not appointed from above.

“Second: regarding the ban of three years, for sporting offences, suffered by me in 1986, to which you alluded, I repeat what I have repeated dozens of times in the past, documenting the following.

“Two years after the beginning of the ban, which I spent in search of exculpatory evidence, CAF, in a sentence of June 1988, recognised, referring to me: ‘the offence committed in his absence and without his knowledge…’; and again ‘Ulivieri passed from the position of absolute protagonist, callous and stubborn, to that of general misconduct’.

“This sentence presupposed the acceptance of a possible request for pardon. Which I did not ask for, however, to safeguard my dignity, because that would have meant admitting my guilt, choosing to serve my ban in full, then starting again from Serie C.

“Thirdly: in recent days many friends have said to me that ‘you were constantly arguing with the referees…’, referring to my past and numerous sending offs when I was on the bench.

“I repeat here what I said to them: as long as you’re on the pitch, we’re on an equal footing (I misbehave, you eject me); when the game is over, we’re no longer on an equal footing, because the coach can speak, and the referee cannot. That didn’t seem right then, and it doesn’t seem right today.

“Going back to Mourinho, I fully agree with his conclusions: we are made of different dough. But I don’t rejoice in that.”

Ulivieri was banned for three years from 1986 to 1989, being involved in the Totonero-bis scandal whilst he was the head coach of Cagliari. His sentence was upheld on appeal and he returned to football after the ban ended, coaching Modena.