Mourinho says he was called ‘traitor’ after being sent off during tough Benfica-Porto derby

Jose Mourinho claimed a rival coach “called me a traitor 50 times” after he was sent off in the final minutes of the final frenetic “O Clássico” between fierce rivals Benfica and Porto on Sunday.

Mourinho, 63, was shown a red card in the 90th minute of the 2-2 draw, with Benfica’s coach saying after the match that he was sanctioned for kicking a ball towards the Porto substitutes’ bench.

In quotes from Portuguese daily A Bola, Mourinho said this was not his intention edc3.

“I often kick the ball towards the stands to give a lucky fan a chance,” Mourinho said at the post-match press conference.

“I know I’m not that good technically, but it was meant for the stands.”

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Mourinho, who led Porto to the 2004 Champions League title in the final season of his two-and-a-half-year coaching spell there, added that it was an “attack on my professionalism” to have been accused of being a traitor by Porto assistant coach Lucho Gonzalez when they clashed after the match.

«He has called me a traitor fifty times. I would like him to explain to me who I am a traitor to?» Mourinho posed. «I went to Porto. I gave my soul to Porto. I went to Chelsea, I went to Inter (Milan), to Real Madrid. I went around the world and gave 24 hours of my life every day. That’s called professionalism.»

Last month, Mourinho attacked the character of Vinícius Júnior after the Real Madrid winger accused Benfica player Gianluca Prestianni of racially abusing him during a Champions League match.

Mourinho suggested that Vinicius had incited Benfica’s players with his celebrations after scoring the only goal in a play-off match between the teams.

Those comments received a lot of criticism, including from Bayern Munich coach Vincent Kompany.

Sunday’s draw puts Porto in first place in the Portuguese league, four points ahead of Sporting Lisbon and seven points ahead of third-placed Benfica.

Published on March 9, 2026