Mourinho receives a two-match suspension, Benfica calls punishment ‘unfair and unjustified’

Jose Mourinho will miss Benfica’s next two games as punishment for his red card and subsequent confrontation with a Porto assistant coach in last Sunday’s controversial ‘O Clássico’.

The Portuguese Football Federation’s disciplinary board has made two decisions that effectively ban the 63-year-old Benfica manager from the team’s next two matches.

Mourinho was given a one-match suspension in Sunday’s 2-2 draw for his red card. He received the reward for leaving his technical area and kicking a ball towards Porto’s substitutes bench in celebration of a goal. Mourinho said he had tried to kick him into the stands.

Mourinho, no stranger to controversy, was also handed an 11-day ban for his exchange with Porto assistant coach Lucho Gonzalez.

READ ALSO: Mourinho says he was called ‘traitor’ after being sent off during prickly Benfica-Porto derby tsn4.

The one-match ban comes into effect for Benfica’s match against Arouca on Saturday. The 11-day suspension would rule him out of the March 21 match against Vitoria. Portuguese media noted that the sentences cannot be served concurrently.

Benfica said it will appeal Thursday evening’s rulings. It called Mourinho’s punishment «unfair and unjustified.»

The disciplinary board noted that Mourinho instigated the clash with Gonzalez by making a gesture with his index finger and thumb and repeatedly saying «you are small.» Gonzalez responded by calling Mourinho, who coached Porto to the Champions League title in 2004, ‘a traitor’.

Gonzalez received a one-match suspension and an eight-day ban.

Published on March 13, 2026