Mourinho future in doubt

Jose Mourinho’s future as Real Madrid manager hangs in the balance after criticism of officials following his side’s exit from the Champions League at the hands of Spanish rivals Barcelona.

Mourinho, who was absent from the ground on Tuesday night following his sending off at the Bernebeu in the first leg, was unhappy with the decision to send Pepe off a week ago before Lionel Messi bagged a brace to effectively end the tie and send Barcelona to Wembley, where they will face Manchester United.



Mourinho was also infuriated by the referee’s decision to award constant free-kicks to Barcelona in the first leg and his criticism seemed to be justified in the return game when the officials decided to rule out Gonzalo Higuain’s goal after Cristiano Ronaldo was penalised for a foul when Javier Mascherano clearly dived on the edge of the box.



The decision had a huge bearing on the game and had it have stood, Madrid would have been back in the tie. However, what Madrid have failed to remember is that they were fortunate to have 11 men on the field as Ricardo Carvalho lunged into three tackles in the first-half despite already having been booked.



Although Mourinho led Madrid to the Copa Del Rey against their arch rivals to earn them their first piece of silverware for years, the former Porto, Chelsea and Inter manager has not done his reputation any favours with his quotes after the game.



His comments infuriated the Catalan giants and influenced his players to follow suit. Forward Cristiano Ronaldo and goalkeeper Iker Casillas also reiterated Mourinho’s thoughts by saying Barcelona get all the decisions and it is impossible to win against them.



The importance of winning has gone too far and his comments have not only affected himself but they have damaged his team and club as a whole which may not be repairable with the Madrid hierarchy.



Mourinho has had arguments in the past with different clubs and only stayed a season at Inter despite winning the treble before arriving in Spain.



Madrid president Florentino Pérez hasn’t hesitated to dismiss other managers in the past including Vincent del Bosque and Jose Antonio Camacho and the week’s events on and off the pitch have shown the ugly side of football which Real Madrid are not normally known for and may have a bearing on the board’s decision whether to retain the services of Mourinho.



Despite winning a trophy, Mourinho may have damaged the club too much for him to stay in charge at the Bernebeu for a second season.