Even Greater Manchester Police are calling Jose Mourinho out on his bullsh*t now.
Mourinho claimed on Tuesday that Manchester United were late for their home Champions League fixture against Valencia because they did not have a police escort to the stadium.
Kick-off at Old Trafford had to be delayed by five minutes, with Mourinho explaining that “the police refused to do an escort, so we come by ourselves”.
“We took from the Lowry Hotel, 75 minutes,” he added. “Uefa were nice, the referee was nice to allow us to start the game five minutes later because we at least need half an hour to be prepared.
“But it was not a problem with the club organisation. We anticipate everything that it could be dangerous, in the sense of arriving late, but we were informed the police refused an escort.”
In response, Greater Manchester Police say that they no longer offer escorts for every game, only those which demand extra security.
“All police deployments are carried out following a comprehensive risk assessment process and, specifically in respect of escort team buses, are only ever undertaken on occasions when there is intelligence or information to suggest a risk of threat or harm to the players,” Chief Inspector Andy Sutcliffe, GMP’s Silver Commander for the game, said.
“GMP has previously used police vehicles to accompany a team’s coach but after a review of our core policing responsibilities it was decided that we would no longer provide this service at every fixture.
“We consulted with the relevant football clubs over a period of months to allow them adequate time to plan ahead for their journeys to the stadium.
“Every fixture is assessed individually and we will continue to work with all clubs to provide an appropriate policing response.”
Meanwhile, Antonio Valencia has revealed why he liked a social media post that urged Manchester United to sack manager Jose Mourinho.
It has been testing times at United with Paul Pogba and Mourinho’s relationship souring, while the club sit on ten points after seven matches in the Premier League.
And the Ecuadorian full-back made matters worse last night when he liked an Instagram post about Mourinho being sacked following United’s 0-0 Champions League draw with La Liga outfit Valencia.
An Instagram account dedicated to Valencia, wrote: “I’m not even surprised about the outcome of this game.
“I always look forward to our games but recently Mourinho has made watching us a punishment now. Something needs to change.
“It’s time for Mourinho to go.”
However, United defender Valencia claims that he only saw the picture and not the caption underneath and issued an apology.
“Yesterday, I liked a post on Instagram without reading the text that accompanied the picture,” Valencia said.
“These are not my views and I apologise for this.
“I am fully supportive of the manager and my teammates.
“We are all giving our everything to improve the results.”