Jose Mourinho’s coaching history in Rome has been nothing short of exciting (so far). The Portuguese failed to provide better results than his predecessor Paulo Fonseca, publicly criticized his players and moaned endlessly about referees in Serie A. And he also failed to win in three games against an inferior opponent – A Norwegian champion. Bodo/Glimt were playing against Roma in the Conference League group stage and managed a 6-1 humiliation at home and a draw (2-2) in Rome, before drawing Mourinho’s team again in the quarter-finals and winning again in Norway (2-1). And ahead of the return leg in Rome on Thursday, former Real, Chelsea and Manchester United coach got an unwanted help: UEFA has suspended Bodo/Glimt coach Kjetil Knutsen and he will not lead his team in the away match.🚨 UEFA have provisionally suspended Roma goalkeeping coach Nuno Santos and Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen. An investigation is due to be held into their altercation after last weeks match. #Roma— Italian Football News 🇮🇹 (@footitalia1) April 11, 2022 The news reached Norwegian team who already arrived in Italy, three days ahead of match. The reason for his suspension is a scuffle between coach Knutsen and Nuno Santos, Roma’s goalkeeper coach, which occurred after the first match. Roma player Lorenzo Pellegrini accused Bodo coach of physically attacking Santos, but Knutsen denied accusations, stating that the opposite occurred, that Santos grabbed him around the neck and pressed him against a wall, after which he defended himself. 🇳🇴 Bodo/Glimt 🤝 Real Madrid 🇪🇸The only two sides that Jose Mourinho has faced on 3+ occasions and 𝙉𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙍 beaten 🤯 pic.twitter.com/qI1z0mxcDd— LiveScore (@livescore) April 8, 2022 The incident has been reported to the police by the Norwegian team, and UEFA intervened and made this provisional decision. Both men are under investigation and could face suspension of up to five UEFA competition matches.“We are surprised and shocked by UEFA’s decision. We will appeal, and will work on that throughout the evening” commented Bodo/Glimt on it’s official Twitter account.CONFERENCE LEAGUE: Bodo scores 10 goals in 270 minutes against Mourinho’s RomaBodo/Glimt Kjetil Knutsen talked to the Norwegian TV recently and explained his stance on the matter. The Norwegian also claimed that there is a video of the incident and also commented on Mourinho’s behavior after the match and his remarks about the Bodo/Glimt staff.“This type of attitude is shocking. His values and his way of coaching are so far from what I represent. It’s incredibly disappointing to see such behaviour from a coach with so many titles and who has been part of the sport for such a long time. This is something that will stick to my name. I experience that as bloody unfair. If you read about me in ten years, then it may be just such things that come up. But I know with myself and have witnesses and video on it. Fortunately, because I thought I was alone and that no one had seen it. Events like this make me want to move into a different field. I even considered whether it was really a good idea to continue working in football. The most important thing for me is being able to look yourself in the mirror” said Knutsen.
