Roma coach Jose Mourinho. FILE - Roma coach Jose Mourinho. Photo: Alberto Lingria/Reuters
Durban β Jose Mourinho leapt to the rescue of Sampdoria manager Dejan Stankovic after a section of Roma supporters hurled racist and derogatory insults towards the Serbian.
Roma comfortably beat Sampdoria 3-0 in a Serie A clash on Saturday thanks to goals from Georginio Wijnaldum, Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy.
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Mourinho's Roma welcomed a Stankovic-led Sampdoira to the Stadio Olimpico with Roma eyeing Champions League football next season, while the Genoa-based side are staring at relegation.
Stankovic was part of Mourinho's famed treble-winning Inter Milan team in 2010, and they shared a warm embrace before the game.
However midway through the match, a raucous section of Roma fans began yelling distasteful expressions towards a very emotional Stankovic which led Mourinho to intervene as the scenes got ugly.
The surge of abuse towards Stankovic was said to be because of his ties with Roma's bitter rivals Lazio, a club he represented more than 200 times before joining Inter.
Mourinho halted the racist chants from Roma fans with an arm raise, which seemed to dull the chants, before he gave a thumbs up after they came to an end.
When quizzed about the incident in his post-match press conference Mourinho said: βYou donβt have to thank me, I did it for a great man and friend. Iβve been insulted many times and in different ways in the stadiums of this world, Iβve built a wall around me for protection and Iβm sure Deki (Stankovic) did the same. Heβs a big man, but heβs got kids and a family.β
Last year Mourinho also intervened when Roma fans directed similar abuse towards Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is of Bosniak descent.
IOL Sport
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