They’re not friends.
Given the fact that Manchester United have failed to win at the bet365/Britannia Stadium since Sir Alex Ferguson retired, Jose Mourinho will probably reflect on the 2-2 draw against Stoke City as a decent point for his men to pick up.
Defensive mistakes from Eric Bailly and Phil Jones proved to be United’s undoing as Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting’s brace gave the hosts a share of the spoils, but during the match, Mourinho and Hughes had a very heated exchange on sidelines.
As reported by The Telegraph, the Stoke manager told his counterpart to “f**k off” after the Manchester United manager encroached into his technical area.
It’s also reported that Hughes asked the referee, Neil Swarbrick, to send Mourinho to the stands following the incident.
“Jose wanted to reorganise his defence after a foul and Hughes pushed him as he walked over and told Jose to f— off. He also asked the referee to send Jose to the stands. In the end Jose just walked away because he doesn’t shake hands after being insulted”, they state.
As the final whistle blew, Mourinho refused to shake Hughes’ hand.
During his post-match interview, the Stoke City manager said: “I pushed him because he was in my technical area. Maybe that is why he didn’t want to shake my hand. It has to be viewed as a negative result for him. Sometimes managers of top-six clubs don’t take negative results too kindly. Maybe he reacted in the wrong way.”
The 2-2 draw means that United remain on top of the league but they longer have their 100% start to the season.
When speaking with the BBC about the incident, Mourinho was quite irritated.
“I don’t speak about stupid things, I’m too old for that, talking about stupid things is for stupid people. I prefer not to answer the question because your question is a bad question. Because it looks like is my fault, is my problem. And your question is not correct, I am sorry, he said.
Next up for Manchester United is their Champions League opener against Basel at Old Trafford while Stoke City get set to face Newcastle United.
