Mourinho takes legal action against journalist
Reuters - Thursday 20 September 2012, 13:47
Real
Madrid and Jose Mourinho are taking legal action against a journalist
and a former Barcelona vice-president who made separate attacks on the
Portuguese coach this week.
Mourinho
acted through lawyers against sports daily Marca's editor-in-chief
Roberto Palomar following an article he wrote that was published on
Monday.
"Palomar... referred
to our client as 'the type of person who would flee after knocking
someone down'," said an extract of a letter from Mourinho's lawyers
published in Thursday's Marca.
"In our eyes this phrase is... degrading and was used in a manner which was completely unnecessary in the critique."
The
newspaper said that Mourinho has demanded the article be rectified and
15,000 euros in damages which he will donate to the local
football team his son plays for.
In
a separate statement on the club website, Real said they had instructed
their legal department to take the action they considered appropriate
against Alfons Godall, a Barca director during Joan Laporta's presidency
of the Catalan club.
After
Mourinho slid on to the Bernabeu pitch on his knees celebrating
Cristiano Ronaldo's 90th-minute winner in their 3-2 Champions League
victory over Manchester City on Tuesday, Godall took to his Twitter
account.
"It's lamentable the psychopath celebrating goals as if he was a player," Godall wrote.
In
their statement, the league champions said: "Real Madrid is not going
to allow attacks of this kind and will always take action against those
who question the honour of people who form a part of this club."
Although
Godall is not a member of the current Barcelona board, these events
will no doubt stir up the animosity between the great rivals again ahead
of Real's visit to the Nou Camp in La Liga on October 7.