After a victorious debut – J. Mourinho's criticisms of UEFA

2024-07-24 10:44 © ZUMAPRESS.com

Jose Mourinho made his official match debut at the helm of Istanbul's Fenerbahce on Tuesday.

The Turkish club defeated Switzerland's vice-champions, Lugano, 4-3 in a dramatic away match during the first round of the UEFA Champions League qualifying stage.

This match took place in Switzerland on artificial turf, which J. Mourinho was not pleased with.

"We didn’t want to look for excuses before the match, but playing top-level football on synthetic turf is extremely challenging.

On such pitches, the ball does not move as it should, players find it difficult to dribble with it, which slows down the game's tempo.

I can't understand why UEFA allows Champions League matches to be played on such pitches. I am also surprised that such a good team like Lugano chose to play on synthetic turf,” Mourinho expressed his frustration.