Jose Mourinho is so ceaselessly entertaining that he brightens up even the dullest of documents.
Today, the charge against Mourinho for allegedly using abusive/insulting/improper language down a television camera after United's win against Newcastle has been found not proven following an Independent Regulatory Commission. The FA are going to appeal the decision.
The written reasons for the verdict were also published today, with the report ruling that, while Mourinho definitely used a profanity, he was merely celebrating victory without actually aiming the words at anyone in particular. "The words mouthed were a Portuguese colloquial profanity", read the report. "Thus, the objective person would have had to lip read [Mourinho's] mouth and interpret
Portuguese colloquialisms to accurately decipher the comments".
This was the kernel of Mourinho's argument. The report elucidated Mourinho's defence, as he claimed that his expression was "a personal, inwardly-directed expression of relief, happiness, and determination". He also argued that his words were "entirely inaudible, were directed to no-one, were comprehensible only to a person possessed of sufficient lip reading skills and a deep expertise in Portuguese colloquialisms". He said he was merely celebrating a victory after an intense few days of pressure and scrutiny, and that the phrase was not aimed at anyone in particular.
To support his argument, Mourinho hired an expert called Simao Valente, who is described as "an Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon and an expert in the Portuguese language, including colloquialism".
Having studied the clip, Valente said that he believed Mourinho twice said "Vão levar no cu, filhos da puta", which translates literally as "Go take it in the arse, sons of the whore". An idiomatic translation of " Fuck off you sons of bitches" or "Fuck off you arseholes" was also provided.
Valente then argued that it was important to pay heed to the context within which the phrase was said. Here is the relevant part of the report:
In this context, Mr Valente described that JM had just won a match which had been more difficult than anticipated, after a difficult start of the season in which he had been subjected to significant criticism in the media. The victory was vindication. JM [Mourinho] was clearly celebrating it, without aiming the words at anyone in particular. He opined that it was common for Portuguese people to express feelings of vindication or success after long suffering by using such phrases without them being directed to anyone in particular.
Mr Valente referred to a headline from a popular Portuguese football newspaper which read “Mourinho celebrated the victory over Newcastle in good Portuguese” to support this point, adding that ‘good Portuguese’ was akin to saying ‘Queen’s English’ and therefore the newspaper was being ironical and lighthearted about the situation, which warranted a joke.
Given the context, Valente argued that Mourinho was merely celebrating victory and the phrase meant 'fuck yeah' or 'hell yeah', and was not directed at anybody in particular.
The FA, meanwhile, hired their own expert.
They asked Pedro Xavier, who is described as "an expert in the translation and interpretation of lip reading of colloquial Portuguese language" to study the clip of Mourinho and to offer an interpretation of the words said. Xavier said that he believed Mourinho twice said "Vós sois uns filhos da puta", which Xavier said translates to “sons of a whore” in English. This phrase, he said, "is absolutely offensive" in a professional context.
Ultimately, the independent body ruled in favour of Mourinho, backing Valente's argument that "Even if the objective person was able to decipher the language [Mourinho] used, which is highly debatable, we accept Mr Valente’s evidence that a typical person fluent in
Portuguese colloquialisms would not feel insulted or offended from what they saw".
The full report can be read here. The decision remains subject to the FA's appeal.
