Jose The Cheat?

It seems that there is little a footballer will not do to gain an advantage these days. Every game sees some degree of so called “Unsporting Behaviour”. It could be a tactical foul disrupting an opponent’s counter attack, time wasting, or the most popular way of cheating: simulation. However Real Madrid’s away tie at Ajax in the Champions League saw a rather inventive display of sportsmanship on the behalf of messrs Alonso and Ramos.

Operating under the orders of the Machiavellian Mourinho, the two World Cup winners manufactured a second yellow card each, leading to their dismissal and a subsequent one-match ban. That one-match ban nicely rules the two players out of the dead rubber clash with Auxerre. The fashioning of the two dismissals was farcical, especially that of Sergio Ramos, like a convoluted game of Chinese whispers Mourinho passed his orders to understudy goalkeeper Jerzy Dudek, who then ran the length of the pitch to have a small conversation with Iker Casillas in the Real Madrid goal. Casillas then just so happened to have a similar chat with the Spanish right back. Two minutes later and Ramos was re-enacting Alonso’s sending off. Shaking the referees hand before he left the pitch, to a fantastic dramatic performance by Alvaro Arbeloa, who either knew nothing about the ‘plan’ or has untapped potential as an actor.

The quintet of Mourinho, Alonso, Dudek, Ramos and Casillas have all been subsequently charged by UEFA with improper conduct. At the time of the incident Mourinho dampened the conspiracy theorists, preferring to focus on the result. He said “Stories sell, but the important thing is the 4-0 win and the fantastic game we had. Let’s talk about that and not other things.” Mourinho will now have to talk about this incident and defend himself and his players against the allegations. The club released a statement expressing its surprise at the decision to open an investigation, “on the understanding that it does not conform with UEFA’s disciplinary rules.” It will be interesting to see how UEFA respond if Mourinho and his cohorts flatly deny the allegations, there is no proof that the players ensured they got themselves sent off, Mourinho could have simply been informing Dudek to relay the message that Ramos should take goal kicks to save Casillas’ groins for the weekend clash against Barcelona…

There is no doubt that they were sent off on purpose, just no proof. Subsequently the debate opens whether Mourinho was unsporting in using this particular loophole. Or whether it was a case of excellent foresight on his part. Whilst no-one likes a cheat, this isn’t an unprecedented moment in football; our very own squeaky clean David Beckham admitted getting booked to miss a game he knew he would be injured for. An act Geoff Hurst believed brought “the country into disrepute.” Arsene Wenger commented that he believed that if guilty Real should be punished but he also admitted “You never say that it doesn’t cross your mind.” Whilst the sending off doesn’t directly harm any one, it does give Real a degree of an advantage. You can be sure that any Champions League club with players on yellow cards will be calling for action to be taken. Mourinho has sought to gain an unfair advantage and if there wasn’t the bureaucracy that blights football he could be punished. But as the Eduardo diving incident proved, without any concrete evidence there is not much UEFA can do to punish Real and Mourinho.

However if you look at this situation from Jose Mourinho’s point of view you can understand his reasoning for the incident. Alonso and Ramos are two of Real’s key players, Alonso especially, and for them to go into a potential last sixteen tie with say Inter Milan on a booking could be very damaging. A silly booking in the first leg and Mourinho has to face Inter with two first teamers out of the picture. Their absences hypothetically would be dramatically missed and they could subsequently exit the competition, which could well cost Mourinho his job. Mourinho is trying to give his team every advantage he can and there wouldn’t be too many fans of clubs up and down the country complaining if their team did the same. The irony is that if UEFA’s inquiry finds them guilty, Alonso and Ramos will miss both last sixteen games. Alongside Casillas and his understudy Dudek. Leaving Real in something of a quandary of their own doing.

This isn’t the first time that Mourinho has tried underhanded tactics to gain an advantage. He has been reported to have been sneaked in and out of Chelsea’s dressing room during a touchline ban, in a laundry basket. During the same touchline ban it became quite obvious that his assistant Rui Faria had some form of headset under his woolen hat to receive orders from Mourinho in the stands. Whilst technically we all know he is cheating and deserves to be punished, you have to admire the inventiveness of the Portugese. He will do anything to win and, looking at his record, he has. His unorthodox methods seem to be doing the business.

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