It was definitely one of the hottest football news stories last week. You remember the claim: “Jose Mourinho should be sent to prison for bullying Bastian Schweinsteiger.”
It was an allegation made by world football players’ union FIFpro member and Slovenian lawyer Dejan Stefanovic.
Stefanovic told BBC World Service Sport on the 4th: “It’s clear bullying. In Slovenia, we would have indicted Mourinho and asked for the highest penalty – three years in prison.
“This is clearly meant to discourage Bastian. Mourinho is setting a bad example. I would take it to the ordinary court.
“In our case, the penal code is quite clear. If there is bullying and harassment, there’s a prison sanction, a maximum of three years in prison.”
This came on the heels of Schweinsteiger being made to clear out his locker in the first team dressing room and made to train with the U23s.
“Schweinsteiger should turn to the Professional Footballers’ Association and he should file a complaint and I would also seek penalty for Mourinho.
“All the players of the first team have to train with the coaches of the first team at the same place, at the same time as all other team-mates.
“That’s something that should be applied to each and every club and should be written within FIFA regulations.”
Today, the League Managers’ Association said the comments were “totally inappropriate”.
It added Stefanovic “has apologised to Mr Mourinho”. (credit BBC)
Schweinsteiger has had a rough go at Old Trafford. He suffered both a major knee ligament injury and a severe regression in form. Schweinsteiger was named to the Premier League top flop lists by numerous publications as his 2015-16 season at Old Trafford has gone quite poorly.
When the attacks were made, Mourinho responded thusly:
“What is happening is what is happening in every club in the world. Which is that the manager decides his squad and chooses a certain number of players to face the season, and that’s it.
“I normally like to work with 20 players plus the three goalkeepers, which is what I do for 15 years. But we have so many players, so many competitions, especially the Europa League, which changes the profile of the season a lot.”
“You have the big risk of traveling a lot, playing Premier League. So I made the decision to play with 23 players and two goalkeepers, which is a lot. I had to make my decisions, it’s simple.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.