Mourinho accused of assault

INTER MILAN have denied allegations that coach Jose Mourinho assaulted a fan after Wednesday night’s Champions League tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Police are investigating a claim that a fan was punched by the former Chelsea manager shortly after Inter crashed out of the Champions League.

An Inter statement said: “After the game, the Portuguese tactician gave interviews to the media, signed autographs, watched penalties of the Roma v Arsenal game before saluting Alex Ferguson in his office.

“After giving the last interview to Inter Channel, he entered the team bus that was parked outside the dressing rooms... it was a very calm post-game experience.”

The allegation was one of assault against Mourinho, with the claim that he punched a fan close to the Inter team bus as the Italian side left the stadium.

Police contacted United to request CCTV footage of the area and confirmed a complaint has been made: “We are investigating an allegation of common assault.”

United confirmed they are aware of the allegation but made no further comment.

Although Mourinho was in jovial mood, shaking hands with United fans before kick-off and after half-time, he came under sustained attack from the Italian media for his team’s performance.

“If anyone wishes to criticise my team, they will have to fight me,” he said at one point.