Mourinho criticised by former Barcelona star over reaction to Mantilla injury

Jose Mourinho has been strongly criticised by former Barcelona player Jose Mari Bakero for his reaction to the serious injury suffered by Racing Santander defender Alvaro Mantilla during their match against Real Madrid on Sunday.

Real Madrid won the game 3-0, but Mourinho’s conduct while Mantilla was being treated caused controversy. Television footage appeared to show the Portuguese coach arguing with the fourth official as the Racing Santander player dealt with a serious knee injury.

Mantilla was later diagnosed with a cruciate ligament rupture, ruling him out for the rest of the season.

Speaking in comments reported by Mundo Deportivo, Bakero criticised Mourinho’s response and called for people to review the footage of the incident.

“I saw what happened,” said the former Barcelona player. “When Mantilla was injured and tore his cruciate ligament, look at the images of Mourinho arguing with the fourth official and saying: ‘He claimed to have gone down, he claimed to have gone down!’”

Bakero said coaches in particular needed to show greater care in situations of that nature.

“To be honest, we have to be clear,” he added. “I believe everyone involved, especially the coaches, must exercise the utmost caution.”

His criticism extended beyond Mourinho’s actions during the match. Bakero also called for stronger measures to be introduced over comments made by players and managers after games, warning that the current atmosphere could have serious consequences.

“If there is something that needs to be done now to change this situation in La Liga, it is to create a committee dedicated to comments made by players and coaches after every match, and to take the necessary action,” he said.

Bakero ended with a stark warning: “Because this will not end well.”