José Mourinho: Arsène Wenger ‘can cry, moan, not achieve and still be king’

José Mourinho’s deep-lying antipathy towards Arsène Wenger has resurfaced in the wake of the Frenchman’s post-match comments at Stamford Bridge last weekend, with the Chelsea manager suggesting his opposite number receives preferential treatment from the Football Association.

The Portuguese was in a particularly spiky mood at his media briefing at Cobham on Friday before Saturday’s trip to Newcastle United. Mourinho claimed he could not answer questions on the three-match ban for violent conduct that has beenimposed retrospectively on the striker Diego Costa in the wake of last Saturday’s 2-0 win over Arsenal, for fear of incurring a touchline suspension. Indeed, he was reluctant to address the implications of that sanction.

“I have no comment, and I’ll tell you why,” he said when asked if he was concerned that Costa may attract more attention from referees after the punishment imposed this week. “In the rule book it says some managers can speak about the referees before and after games. Some others cannot. Then comes the list. I am in the list of those who are punished if they speak about the referees before the game. I have to stick to that rule book because I am in the list of those who cannot speak about the referees.”

Asked to clarify, he added: “You know that some can [talk about referees]. It’s an imaginary list, but clearly [I am on it].” Wenger had been highly critical of Mike Dean’s performance at Stamford Bridge in his immediate post-match press conference, and urged the official and the FA to scrutinise video footage of Costa’s conduct in the 43rd-minute clash with Laurent Koscielny. The striker was subsequently charged over that incident.