Jose Mourinho says he was blameless but “the story is over” after a fracas with members of Chelsea’s coaching staff at the end of their 2-2 draw.
The Manchester United manager leapt to his feet and was held back by stewards after Chelsea coach Marco Ianni goaded him following Ross Barkley’s late goal.
“It is not my reaction, it is Sarri’s assistant. Don’t do what everyone does and say, ‘It’s Mourinho who does things.’ They have apologised, everything is fine,” Mourinho told BBC Sport.
Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri confirmed that he and his assistant had apologised to Mourinho straight after the game, with Sarri admitting that his staff were in the wrong.
United had taken a 2-1 lead thanks to two goals from Anthony Martial after trailing at the break. But, deep into six minutes of added time, David Luiz headed against the post and Barkley was free to bundle in an equaliser for Chelsea.
Mourinho stayed in his seat but, after Ianni ran past him, reacted to something the Italian said and had to be restrained.
“Oh come on, I can tell you that the 97 minutes of the game was so good that you have to focus on that,” Mourinho told Sky Sports when asked about the incident after the game.
“I am not annoyed with anything. What happened was with Sarri’s assistant, Sarri was the first one to come to me and say he will resolve it.
“The assistant has already come to me and apologised, I told him to forget it. I have made a lot of mistakes in my career. He was very impolite but Sarri took care of the situation.”
After the full-time whistle, Mourinho held up three fingers to the Chelsea fans in reference to the three Premier League titles he delivered for the Blues in two spells in charge.
He had said before the game that he would respect his old club by not over-celebrating, but felt he did not receive the same courtesy in return.
“I did not get respect back from Chelsea [fans] but that is not my responsibility. I have a certain level of education, socially and in sport, and what I did here today I would do in Madrid, Porto, Milan, I try to behave always the same way. But the reactions of the fans is up to them.”
Sarri was quick to apologise to Mourinho and said he would take action behind closed doors.
He told BBC Sport: “I didn’t see what happened but I have spoken to Jose Mourinho. I understood that we were in the wrong side of the situation.
“I have spoken to a member of my staff and have dealt with this immediately.
“If I speak to a member of staff and am very hard [with him] I cannot come here and tell everything because then I am not credible with the staff.”
