August 5 – The new English season has not yet started but Jose Mourinho, back in the Premier League with Manchester United, is already causing controversy, hurting feelings and facing accusations of disrespect.
The players union FIFpro says Mourinho should be sent to jail for “bullying” Bastian Schweinsteiger by forcing the highly respected German international to train alone before a competitive ball has even been kicked.
The experienced 32-year-old midfielder signed a three-year deal in 2015 and played 31 games last season but has been pushed down the pecking order as Mourinho builds his own team.
“It’s clear bullying,” Slovenia’s FifPro member Dejan Stefanovic, told the BBC. “In Slovenia, we would have indicted Mourinho and asked for the highest penalty – three years in prison.”
Mourinho is due to hold a press conference today to preview Sunday’s curtain-raising Community Shield against Premier League champions Leicester City and seems certain to be asked about Schweinsteiger, a World Cup winner with Germany.
But Stefanovic says the Portuguese’s behaviour is excusable. “This is clearly meant to discourage Bastian,” he said.
“Mourinho is setting a bad example. I would take it to the ordinary court. Schweinsteiger should turn to the (English) Professional Footballers’ Association and he should file a complaint and I would also seek penalty for Mourinho. All the players of the first team have to train with the coaches of the first team at the same place, at the same time as all other team-mates.
“That’s something that should be applied to each and every club and should be written within FIFA regulations.”
Schweinsteiger, who has made 120 appearances for Germany, was left out of Mourinho’s 25-man squad for last weekend’s 5-2 friendly win over Galatasaray in Gothenburg and was not part of the 22 for Wayne Rooney’s testimonial with Everton on Wednesday.
His brother Toby, who is assistant manager of Bayern Munich’s Under-17s team, sent a tweet on the evening of the Galatasaray match stating: “No respect.”
Bayern Munich president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, another former Germany captain, told German publication Bild: “One or two players are going to think long and hard in future about whether they want to go to such a club.”
Another FIFpro spokesman, Raymond Baard, told Sky that if similar treatment happened in a different country, Mourinho could be sued.
“Schweinsteiger has been put in a situation where Manchester United are trying to force him to move on and leave the club,” he said.
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