Jose Mourinho
Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho set an excellent example by entering the field on Sunday, April 2, during the Serie A game between his AS Roma and Sampdoria at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome. The 60-year-old Mourinho demonstrated his class by intervening the game and requesting Roma supporters to cease their racist chants against Sampdoria manager Dejan Stankovic, a former Inter player who played under the Portuguese coach.

Stankovic was frustrated after Sampdoria were reduced to ten men as a result of Jeison Murillo being dismissed with the score level at 0-0. To further provoke their the visitors, some Roma fans alluded to Stankovic’s Serbian ancestry. Jose Mourinho, who has won league titles across three of Europe’s top-five leagues with Chelsea, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid, stepped in to ask his fans to stop making those chants.

Jose Mourinho
Sampdoria’s Serbian manager Dejan Stankovic played for Jose Mourinho’s Inter back in his playing career. Credits: Twitter

I did it for a great man and a great friend – Jose Mourinho speaks up for his counterpart

The unfortunate incident took place on Sunday at Roma’s home stadium during their Serie A game against Sampdoria. When Sampdoria were reduced to 10 men, their Serbian coach Dejan Stankovic responded angrily, prompting, according to accounts, racist chanting from Roma supporters.

Jose Mourinho, who coached Stankovic at Inter Milan, was quick to warn the Roma fans to halt their shouts while he stood up for Stankovic. Under Mourinho, Stankovic was a member of the Inter team that won the famous treble of Serie A, Coppa Italia, and Champions League in the 2009/10 season.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Jose Mourinho said about his actions:

“I did it for a great man and a great friend. He has kids and a family and it’s not pretty. Our fans are great, but my friends aren’t being touched.”

Stankovic stated to Football Italia after the game:

“I thank Jose, because I didn’t even notice, but as for the chants, I am proud of who I am. I am proud to be a gypsy.”

Georginio Wijnaldum scored the game’s first goal for Roma in the 57th minute, while Paulo Dybala converted a penalty and Stephan El Shaarawy added another in stoppage time to help Jose Mourinho’s side to a 3-0 win. As they attempt to qualify for the Champions League, Roma are currently level on points with fourth-placed Inter in Serie A after the win. Sampdoria, on the other hand, are 19th and will have to fight hard to stay up.

The 44-year-old Serbian Dejan Stankovic who took over as manager of Sampdoria in October of last year was also a player for Roma’s crosstown rivals Lazio, alongside Mourinho’s Inter. And during his stay there, he frequently found himself the target of hateful chants as a player.

Yet on Sunday, Jose Mourinho intervened and demonstrated excellent sportsmanship by telling the crowd to stop chanting. On social media, the above video of him leaving his technical area and approaching the crowd to ask them to stop chanting quickly went viral.