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Jose Mourinho agreed to apologize to Arsene Wenger for calling him a "voyeur" and thus end the word war, but only if the London's senior coach apologizes to him for months of tendentious criticism towards London.
J. Mourinho noted that he did not intend to offend Arsene Wenger deliberately, which was confirmed by the managing directors of both clubs.
Chelsea's head coach proposed to draw a clear line in this argument and rather take care of their teams, rather than discussing respect for A. Wenger or the Chelsea club. Nevertheless, Jose Mourinho made it clear that he will not tolerate Arsene Wenger's sharp comments in the future. J. Mourinho was particularly irritated by A. Wenger's remark about Roman Abramovich's moral principles tempting Ashley Cole.
"If he is willing to take back his disrespectful statements about Chelsea, then I am ready to do the same. On the other hand, there is nothing personal here. I really didn't want to offend the man, as an individual, his feelings. I greatly respect him, his success is a great example to many, as he achieved everything with his work and talent, no one helped him. I also respect him as a coach. Unfortunately, in recent times I have heard too many cutting remarks from him about Chelsea. Some of them were offensive, such as that about moral values, some sarcastic, when he stated that I will only have one Premier League title in my trophy collection. Strange how I can win two titles in one season! But it's time to say enough — this will be beneficial not only to him but also to me. I have enough problems in my club that need to be addressed immediately. We lost the last game, so we must improve. His club also has some issues - it's obvious that they don't play in the Premier League as they should. Both of us will be better off if we leave everything in the past," said Jose Mourinho.
Will J. Mourinho's open admission be enough to calm Arsene Wenger? We will have to wait, although it is worth noting that the remark made by the Chelsea Portuguese last weekend deeply hurt the Arsenal senior coach. He was simply shaken by J. Mourinho's character.
On the other hand, Chelsea's managing director Peter Kenyon this morning, talking on the phone with Arsenal director Keith Edelman, confirmed that J. Mourinho did not intend to belittle a specific person. Jose Mourinho naturally reacted to constant disrespectful statements from the Arsenal head coach about his club, which led him to guess that he was obsessed with Chelsea. On the other hand, A. Wenger was simply hurt by the word "voyeur" and called J. Mourinho's comments disrespectful, out of context, and having no connection to reality. Meanwhile, P. Kenyon seeks to ease the tense situation by any means, especially after the Football Association of England strictly directed both clubs to defend their head coaches.
The next step lies with Arsene Wenger, who so far stubbornly refuses to stop criticizing Chelsea after a few recent disrespectful comments. "At this moment, I only care about my team's game. Later, we will have a short break. Then I will consider the situation," he said after the midweek victory against Sparta. - "I adore football, so I prioritize my team's game. But if I am attacked, I defend myself and respond in kind."
Furthermore, A. Wenger strongly insisted that he would completely ignore J. Mourinho's latest comments about his behavior prompting speculation of whether he is not obsessed with Chelsea.
Nevertheless, when asked about the FA's intervention, he replied, "I have no idea what I did wrong, so I really can't imagine what actions the FA is going to take. I did not want to offend anyone, but if you asked me a question and I didn't answer it, everyone would think I was being rude."
