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The eccentric London strategist Jose Mourinho unexpectedly withdrew his criticism of Liverpool club striker Andy Johnson's actions in the weekend match between the two teams, which the English champions won 3-2 on the road.
The victory for the "Blues" was secured in the 87th minute with a fantastic long-range strike from Didier Drogba, but J. Mourinho expressed his dissatisfaction with A. Johnson after the match, who fell in the penalty area after a tussle with Khalid Boulahrouz and provoked the opposing coach's anger.
When asked about the incident by a BBC television journalist, J. Mourinho accused the "Everton" forward of theatrics: "I don't know, but it looks like he's acting. I felt that he was embarrassed later because he no longer tried to earn penalties and similar things. I think sometimes it's good for players to be embarrassed, and I think he should be embarrassed. He's a good player, but he does it too often."
The "Everton" club was upset by the Portuguese manager's statements and complained to the Football Association, demanding that the "Chelsea" coach retract his comments. A. Johnson himself also denied attempting to earn a penalty and explained that he was simply trying to avoid colliding with the goalkeeper Hilario.
"I just wanted to avoid colliding with the fallen "Chelsea" goalkeeper. I don't consider myself an actor. I didn't try to earn a penalty. In fact, I'm very disappointed that my honesty as a player was unfairly questioned. I think the incident mentioned by Mr. Mourinho was simply misinterpreted. I hope the "Chelsea" coach will withdraw his words."
The player's and Liverpool club's hopes and protests were not in vain - on Wednesday, the strategist known for his loud statements apologized to "Everton" and A. Johnson for his words and acknowledged that the referee Mark Halsey correctly assessed the episode.
""The "Everton" club, its coach, and him (A. Johnson - ed.) deserve my apology. First of all, I would like to express my great respect for the "Everton" football club, David Moyes, and his players. That's why I like to play against them and especially at "Goodison Park" stadium, where the atmosphere is wonderful," said J. Mourinho.
"Secondly, after the match, I spoke clearly and said that Andy Johnson is a great player and I did not use harsh words, as some coaches have done in recent seasons, or as others have recently said about him and (Cristiano - ed.) Ronaldo. I did not use the word "cheat". After seeing the video replay, I can say that Mr. Halsey did an excellent job and both decisions regarding penalties were correct. Did Andy Johnson try to avoid colliding with the goalkeeper? It seems so, so "Everton", their coach, and he deserve an apology," the Portuguese coach said."
