Former Roma defender Rick Karsdorp hit out angrily at his old coach Jose Mourinho, noting he had become an ‘easy target’ to deflect blame for poor results when called a ‘traitor.’
Neither of them are at the Stadio Olimpico this season, but the memories remain of the bitter argument they had in November 2022.
Following a late draw with Sassuolo in Serie A, Mourinho went to the media and declared a player – who he did not name, but very clearly by the description of the substitution was Karsdorp – “betrayed the efforts of all the others. It was an unprofessional attitude, he acted as a traitor to his teammates and I already said as much in the locker room.”
While Karsdorp was then frozen out and brought back in months later following an appeal from the Players’ Association, his rapport with Roma was never the same again.
Karsdorp cannot forgive Mourinho for Roma row
“Mourinho never apologised. He is not that kind of man,” Karsdorp told NU.nl in the Netherlands, where he is now playing for PSV Eindhoven.
“I did notice that he tried to restore our bond, but I held him at a distance. He called me a traitor about eight times in the locker room. I can take that, it’s ok, but he should never have done it publicly. I do blame him for that.
“We used to get along, we were close, so I was surprised by his actions. He went too far. After that argument, I really should’ve left.”
According to the version of events given by Karsdorp, the situation had already deteriorated during the tense Derby della Capitale with Lazio, when he went straight into the locker room after a substitution.
“But I was just getting my jacket. It all got hyped up in the media. The truth is the results were bad, I was an easy target. I think Mourinho wanted to send a message through me.”
While Karsdorp moved back to the Netherlands with PSV Eindhoven in the summer of 2024, Mourinho was fired by Roma in January 2024.
The coach is now in Turkey at the helm of Fenerbahce, though still openly bitter about the way things ended at the Stadio Olimpico.