The Jose Mourinho Chelsea bust up really is not worth hyping up

Scandal! Except not really. The bust up involving Jose Mourinho and Marco Ianni really is not worth all the hype and attention from Chelsea fans.

The game was all but over when Ross Barkley found himself on the end of a ball ping ponging around the box. He put it in the back of the net to level the score with the final play of the game. Chelsea’s assistant coach Marco Ianni celebrated wildly in front of the Manchester United bench.

Jose Mourinho responded by going after him. The stewards kept the two apart. Several minutes later, when all the staff and players had finished arguing, the game ended. A point each for Maurizio Sarri and Jose Mourinho in their first ever meeting.

And despite the game being quite entertaining (if frustrating from a Chelsea perspective), most headlines and takes after the game focused on the bust up. Scandalous! Shameful! Disgraceful! Sack him and respect him and he deserves it and all sorts of takes came out. It really was not worth all the hype.

First, from Ianni’s side of things. Football is a passionate game. A victory can turn into a defeat in seconds and vice versa. If someone is not celebrating their team leveling, they should be questioned, not vilified. After all, do the commentators not make a point about how little Mourinho celebrates after a goal? Ianni’s passion is fantastic to see and is pure emotion.

Was it wrong to go in front of United’s bench to do it? Yes it was. Passion is great but it toes a line with taunting. By going in front of Mourinho (twice), Ianni crossed the line. That side of it is distasteful, but some of the takes about it have been absurd.

Ianni apologized to Mourinho and Mourinho accepted. The club is angry with him, but calling for his sacking is insane. Passion police have no place in the game. Now, if it recurs, yes consider harsher punishment. But as things stand, give Ianni a slap on the wrist and move on.

But there is also the Jose Mourinho side of this and whether he deserved it or not. The crowd chanted both positive and negative songs at the former manager. And there is a solid debate going on as to whether that was right or not. It is a much more nuanced debate than the Ianni one.

Jose Mourinho is a Chelsea legend. Full stop. The culture he implemented during his first stint at the club is only now beginning to fade. But respect is a two way street and the legend has given little of it since he began at Manchester United.

Mourinho has made snide comments about Chelsea fans, players, and managers. This is how he is. And while his contribution will always be respected, his treatment of the club currently will not. So yes, the fans can sing disrespectful things towards Mourinho because Mourinho drew that line in the sand. If he had stayed respectful to Chelsea and the fans, like Juan Mata, he too would be hearing his name sung positively during matches regardless of the dugout.

Overall, this whole fight was exciting but simply is not worth the hype that came after. Ianni went over the line, but it is understandable how he got to that point. Mourinho deserves some respect, but not reverence due to his previous actions. This whole situation should be a footnote to a good game rather than the story of the game. Learn, move on, and go again.