A furious José Mourinho blamed Massimo Mauro on Wednesday night during a post-match interview with Sportmediaset as the former Italian winger had criticised the Giallorossi’s attitude in their win over Napoli in December.
Mourinho didn’t only talk about his future following Roma’s 2-1 win over Cremonese in the Coppa Italia Round of 16 on Wednesday as he publicly blamed former Udinese, Juventus and Napoli winger Mauro live on TV.
The first thing he asked when he arrived for his post-match interview with Sportmediaset was: “Is Massimo Mauro there?”
When the reporter at the Stadio Olimpico replied that the ex-winger was not in the studio, Mou was disappointed.
“It’s a shame. We demand respect for our difficulties.”
The Portuguese coach continued: “To me, an ex-footballer who does not respect people who eat from the same plate where he had eaten, it’s bad.
“There are different types of pundits, people with a different profile. When I see a pundit who has been there, with his a*s on the bench or his feet on the pitch, I think he understands and respects those who eat from the same plate. And he still eats from the same plate because he doesn’t go on TV just for his pretty face, but also for the money.”
Mauro is one of the Sportmediaset pundits, but he was not in the studio to comment on the Roma game on Wednesday night.
The 61-year-old had infuriated Mourinho with his comments on Roma’s 2-0 victory against Napoli on December 23, which saw Matteo Politano and Osimhen get one red card each at the Stadio Olimpico.
“The players’ behaviour was questionable. It was a very difficult game for the referee who I justify,” Mauro had said.
“There were plenty of fouls and brawls and unsportsmanlike behaviour, and I think it was a clear strategy from Mourinho’s team. This is even worse because it goes against the football spirit. It was not nice; the players on the pitch did not help the referee.”