Jose Mourinho gave a frosty response after footage of a brawl between Roma and Bodo/Glimt's coaching staff emerged ahead of the two teams' hotly-anticipated Europa Conference League quarter-final second leg on Thursday.
Video footage of the incident from inside the tunnel shows Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen and Roma's goalkeeping coach, Nuno Santos, coming to blows following the Italian giants' humiliating 2-1 loss in Norway last week. Both men were provisionally suspended by UEFA and are set to miss the rematch at the Stadio Olimpico, meaning Knutsen will be absent for the biggest game in his club's history, with his side boasting a crucial one-goal advantage on aggregate.
The Norwegian club - who also faced off against Roma in the group stages and went unbeaten - lodged an appeal against the decision, but it was dismissed by UEFA on the eve of this Thursday's return leg. A clip obtained by the Independent showed Santos and Bodo/Glimt's boss were involved in a "heated exchange" which saw a punch thrown. While the two clubs made contrasting claims describing what happened, Mourinho faced questions on the video during his pre-match press conference.
As relayed by Football Italia, the Giallorossi boss was reluctant to discuss details of the incident, having been probed to responded to Bodo/Glimt's claim that the Roma bench started the brawl. "I don't think about it, UEFA thinks about it. I don't decide, UEFA decides," Mourinho declared.
Asked by reporters if something could have been done differently, the 59-year-old admitted: "Of course." Mourinho then refused to comment on Knutsen's belief that Bodo/Glimt have already won the tie, and what occurred between him and Santos. "I don't talk about other people's comments," the ex- Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur boss added. "If you want to ask me another question, ask it."
In the aftermath of the chaotic first leg, a statement from Bodo/Glimt read: "The goalkeeping coach of Roma positioned himself illegally outside the coaching staff, where he continuously verbally and gesturingly harassed Knutsen."
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Their manager went on to say: "Everything culminated in a physical attack on me in the player tunnel. Usually I'm so by nature that I would withdraw. In this case, I was physically attacked. He grabbed me by the neck and pushed me into the wall. It is only natural that I then had to defend myself."
Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini, who scored the Giallorossi's only goal of the game, had previously accused Knutsen of confronting Santos, adding: "Knutsen started saying something to our goalkeeping coach and then attacked him. It was an unpleasant incident for the competition and for fair play.
"'I'm disappointed because we came here with respect, but incidents like this are an insult to Roma and to the competition. It's shameful." UEFA, according to the Independent, concluded earlier this week that both teams were equally responsible.
