Mourinho defends Chelsea coach over ugly sideline spat

Manchester United coach Jose Mourinho has produced a classy response to the ugly scuffle that overshadowed their clash with Chelsea over the weekend.

While Chelsea assistant coach Marco Ianni has been charged with improper conduct after his exuberant celebrations sparked an altercation with Mourinho – the Man Utd boss wants him to get “a second chance”.

“I’m not happy that it is going too far with the young boy, I don’t think he deserves more than what he got,” Mourinho said.

“(Ianni) apologised to me, I accept his apologies, I think he deserves a second chance, I don’t think he deserves to be sacked.

“It was end of the story with me in the minute he apologised.”

Chelsea scored a late equaliser to hold United to a 2-2 draw in the Premier League on Saturday and Ianni celebrated the goal in front of United’s bench, leading to an ugly melee.

On Monday, the FA charged Ianni for his behaviour, saying in a statement that he had until 5pm local time on Thursday to respond.

The governing body also said it had “formally reminded Mourinho of his responsibilities”, although the Portuguese escaped a charge for his part in the row.

“Both clubs have received similar official reminders in terms of the behaviour expected of their staff and players at all times whilst in the technical area,” the FA added.

Mourinho has attempted to draw a line under the unsavoury scenes and urged Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri not to sack Ianni, despite calls from Former United midfielder Phil Neville due to his unsporting conduct.

“So I hope everybody does the same as I did, which is not to disturb a career of a young guy which is probably a great guy, is probably a coach of great potential and I’m not happy with it more than that,” Mourinho added.

“But I would really like the boy not to go through more than that. Let him work, everybody makes mistakes, I made mistakes, I hope they let the kid go.”

with AAP.