Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho deepens Antonio Conte rift by invoking match-fixing scandal

In 2016, Conte was cleared of of failing to report match fixing during his time as manager of Siena

Jose Mourinho has risked deepening his rift with Antonio Conte by making a pointed reference to the Chelsea manager’s acquittal over match-fixing allegations.

The Manchester United manager had the final word on an extraordinary day that began with Conte suggesting that Mourinho suffers from “demenza senile” – an Italian phrase which literally translates as ‘senile dementia’.

Conte was responding to remarks made by Mourinho on Thursday, when the United manager claimed he did not need act like a “clown” on the touchline to prove that he is passionate about his work.

The comments were interpreted as a slight on Conte and the Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp, who have been known to act expressively while watching their respective sides.

On Friday, Conte responded by suggesting that Mourinho must have forgotten some of his own touchline behaviour down the years and warned his counterpart that he is ready to “fight” for himself and for Chelsea.

However, after United’s 2-0 FA Cup third round victory over Derby County later the same day, Mourinho denied that he was referring to anyone but himself and claimed his comments had been misinterpreted by the media.

Having asked the press to apologise to both himself and Conte for the misunderstanding, and after apparently extending an olive branch to the Chelsea manager, Mourinho then added: “What has never happened to me is match fixing and it will never happen.”

When asked to clarify whether his final comment specifically referred to Conte and the Chelsea manager’s acquittal over match-fixing allegations, Mourinho said: “Sorry, did he? Not me.”

Before taking over at Chelsea in the summer of 2016, Conte was cleared of failing to report match fixing during his time as manager of Siena. The allegations related to a Serie B match against Novara in May 2011 which ended in a 2-2 draw.

The Italian, who vigorously denied any wrongdoing once the allegations came to light, was initially handed a 10-month ban from football by his native country’s football association in August 2012. The ban was subsequently reduced to four months and served during the 2012-13 season, by which point Conte was in charge of Juventus.

The accusations against Conte were later found to be baseless by a trial in Cremona in May 2016, with the Italian’s lawyers describing the verdict as a “full acquittal”.

Mourinho’s remarks are likely to enflame the escalating war of words between the pair, even though the United manager had initially appeared ready for reconciliation.

“I don’t blame him,” the United manager said at first, when asked for his reaction to Conte’s ‘dementia’ comment. “Honestly. I think the press should apologise to me and him.

“The question that comes to him is completely wrong and because of that he had that out of control reaction. You know I was speaking about myself and then the question to the Chelsea manager was that I said he behaved like a clown.

“I don’t blame the Chelsea manager at all and I understand his reaction. I was saying I don’t need to behave like a clown. Everybody knows I don’t, I celebrated goals running 50 metres, sliding on my knees, jumping in the crowd.

“I’m not free of that, to have an out of control reaction. I behave bad a few times and now I control myself better. I made mistakes in the past on the touchline and I will make less but I’ll still make a few.”​