Former Benfica football coach Jose Mourinho won his appeal at the Sports Arbitration Court to revoke punishments from a derby against FC Porto.
The ruling by the court tribunal cancelled all sanctions and fines imposed after incidents during the match in March. The decision, written by Arbitral College president Jose Ricardo Goncalves and dated July 30, was published on the tribunal website on Wednesday.
The tribunal determined that Mourinho offered a proportional and appropriate response to an earlier provocation from FC Porto assistant coach Lucho Gonzalez. During the 25th round match of the Portuguese I Liga, which ended in a 2-2 draw, Gonzalez called Mourinho a traitor. Mourinho responded by calling Gonzalez tiny, leading referee Joao Pinheiro to send off both men in the final minutes of the game.
Reasoning behind the tribunal ruling
The tribunal concluded that Mourinho did not intend to harm or offend the honor and reputation of Gonzalez, who is also identified in the ruling as Luis Oscar Gonzalez. Instead, the court found his comment was a measured response to being called a traitor.
The ruling was signed by Goncalves with the express agreement of arbitrators Pedro Melo and Nuno Teodosio de Oliveira. Tribunal officials noted that Mourinho selected an expression free of swear words and did not make any insulting gesture during the confrontation. The panel decided his statement did not dishonor the assistant coach and represented an expression of opinion rather than a disciplinable offense.
Sanctions overturned by the arbitration court
Following the match, the Disciplinary Council of the Portuguese Football Federation handed Mourinho an 11-day suspension alongside two fines totaling 5,355 euros. The former Benfica manager also faced an automatic one-match ban resulting from the red card.
Mourinho, who has since taken charge as head coach of Real Madrid, successfully overturned all of those disciplinary measures through the arbitration decision. The tribunal concluded that remarks made in such a context do not warrant disciplinary punishment when they respond proportionally to prior provocations.
