The FA, always with their priorities in order
The FA have decided to appeal the decision that found José Mourinho not guilty of using abusive language after Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United in October.
Mourinho argued that context was vital to judging his use of language, and successfully avoided any punishment for swearing in his native Portuguese right in front of a TV camera.
However, with no issues more pressing at the moment, the FA have decided to appeal the decision.
The hearing will take place next week at the earliest, meaning Mourinho will be in the United technical area for the Manchester derby at the Etihad on Sunday.
During the initial hearing, Mourinho and the FA used a language expert to analyse the phrase he repeated, which included “filhos da puta”.
The FA’s expert, Pedro Xavier, translated this as “sons of a whore” and stated it was “highly offensive, especially if the people involved are not close. Among friends (normally men) it can occur as a joke or a teaser. In a professional context it is absolutely offensive.”
Yet Simão Valente, for Mourinho, stated that “context is vital” in understanding and translating the phrase. He said that one version could be translated as “hell, yeah!” and argued that was reasonable to assume given the relief Mourinho must gave felt at his side’s comeback after coming under increasingly intense media scrutiny in the previous weeks.
The independent commission found that the burden of proof was on the FA to prove that the context meant that Mourinho’s use of the language was offensive and therefore found that Mourinho to be not guilty.
The FA’s appeal will be heard towards the end of next week.
