I Am Scouted by Real Madrid

These remarks were shocking enough, but Mourinho clearly wasn’t planning to stop there. He went further to sarcastically criticize the Champions League trophy Barcelona won two years ago: "I’ve won the championship with two teams that aren’t Barcelona. Porto is from a country that basically can’t win such a championship; Inter Milan hadn’t touched this honor for fifty years. We won the championship with sweat, hard work, and our heads held high. As for Guardiola, though he is an excellent coach, the Champions League trophy he won — if it were me, I’d be ashamed to win it. And now, the one he might win again, I’d also be ashamed to take. The last time it was the Stanford Bridge scandal, this time it’s the Bernabeu scandal. I just hope one day he can win a championship without any scandal."

These words were evidently too heavy.

Although Guardiola refused to make any comments at the press conference, Barcelona Club was not planning to let it go—who could swallow such insults, especially when they came from the consistently adversarial Mourinho? Moreover, these accusations severely challenged their club’s reputation and image.

At the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, I learned that Barcelona’s legal advisors had already gathered to study Mourinho’s remarks after the press conference. They are very likely to appeal to UEFA regarding the madman’s words. And once the matter is taken to UEFA, the chances of Mourinho facing further disciplinary action are high. While the "madman" may vent his anger temporarily, the price to pay might be significantly higher...

The first leg of the 2010/11 European Champions League semi-final, Real Madrid at home tied 1:1 with Barcelona. Even though the match is over, the lingering smoke of battle is still shrouding the atmosphere.

UEFA has already announced a formal investigation into the series of disciplinary incidents that occurred in this match, and Mourinho’s over-the-top behavior could likely bring greater trouble for himself and his team.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have expanded the arena of the Spanish national Derby to the European stage, yet the intensity continues to increase. Whether it’s the midfield clashes, Pepe’s red card, or Mourinho being sent to the stands followed by his intense post-match rhetoric, everything concerning this match continues post-game.

As the upholders of discipline, UEFA certainly will not stand idly by.

UEFA has announced a formal investigation into a series of disciplinary incidents occurring in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final between Real Madrid and Barcelona.

In its official statement, UEFA indicated: "The investigation concerning Real Madrid includes fans throwing objects onto the pitch, certain fans invading the pitch, Pepe’s red card, Mourinho’s expulsion from the game, and his series of inappropriate comments after the match."

Pepe’s reckless foul against Alves at the 61st minute resulted in a red card, and Mourinho’s ineffective protests led him to pay the price of expulsion with a thumbs-up to the referee.

In the post-match interview, Mourinho similarly failed to control his emotions: "Pepe should not have been sent off with a red card; maybe someone will give me an answer. A foul on a Barcelona player miraculously led to a red card. They are a great team, congratulations to them, but they have this ability. Pepe was sent off; I was too. I don’t know why. Why? Why does such a great team still need these (means)? Why? Why? Football should be equal to all parties. The team that deserves to win should indeed win." He even brought up past events during Chelsea’s clash with Barcelona, directly targeting UEFA, "If they truly played better than us, we’d accept the outcome. Why did such an originally evenly-matched game lead to this situation? Why? Why did they leave us with only ten men to fight? Why did they ignore the four penalties Chelsea should have gotten in the semi-finals years ago? I hope one day I’ll get an answer. I always want to act a bit more sincerely. I just want to know why."

Barcelona also swiftly responded to Mourinho’s questioning: "In the post-match press conference, Mourinho was fiercely critical of the referee in charge and implied UEFA favored Barcelona. The club’s legal department is already considering whether to appeal Mourinho’s inappropriate remarks to UEFA’s disciplinary committee."

In their official statement, UEFA also addressed the disciplinary actions of Barcelona, stating "The investigation concerning Barcelona mainly involves substitute goalkeeper Pinto’s red card." After the first half of the match, Real Madrid and Barcelona players erupted into intense conflict before entering the dressing rooms, during which Barcelona’s substitute goalkeeper Pinto was red-carded for assaulting an opponent.

UEFA will announce the results of the investigation on May 6.

Real Madrid and Barcelona have already ignited the flames of war from the pitch to the club level.

Barcelona first declared the start of the war, accusing UEFA of Mourinho’s inappropriate remarks after the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals, while Real Madrid finds Barcelona’s actions "unprecedented." As a result, they "are forced to follow by accusing Barcelona players of deceptive behavior violating sports ethics."