Mourinho snubs press after fiery draw

Posted Thursday, March 22, 2012 by ESPN

Jose Mourinho refused to speak to the press after being sent off in a hot-tempered 1-1 draw against Villarreal which saw Real Madrid's lead in La Liga reduced to six points.

A Cristiano Ronaldo strike just after the hour mark gave Real Madrid a tenuous lead but Marcos Senna levelled the score with a free-kick seven minutes from the final whistle.

Shortly after, Mourinho was then sent off by referee Jose Paradas Romero for sarcastically applauding the referee's decision to award the set piece which Senna converted, forcing the Portuguese manager to join his fitness coach Rui Faria, who was earlier sent to the stands for the fourth time this season.

Sergio Ramos and Mesut Ozil joined their manager down the tunnel minutes later after the former was shown a second yellow card for a wild challenge on Nilmar and the latter was sent off for dissent.

The draw at El Madrigal meant that Madrid's lead at the top of La Liga has been reduced from 10 points to six points over the past five days.

With an El Clasico at Nou Camp still to come, this unexpected stutter has given Barcelona hope in the title race.

However, Real Madrid defender Marcelo believes that there is no reason to panick as yet.

"I think any team would like to have a six-point lead," the Brazilian reasoned. "We must be calm. Tonight was a tough match but we're fine. We did not get the victory but the team spirit is good."

He then bemoaned the fact that his side conceded yet another late goal from a set piece; Santi Cazorla scored in the final minute of play to equalise for Malaga against Real last weekend, while Marcos Senna was the scorer this time round.

Marcelo added: "We are getting on with our work but sometimes referees go against us. We will have to keep on working.

"We have to improve in a lot of things. Tonight we conceded another goal from a set-piece but we're still in front and we'll keep working."

Fellow Real Madrid defender Pepe could face disciplinary action for verbally abusing the referee after the match.

It was revealed that the Brazilian tried to confront the official in the tunnel after the game at El Madrigal and shouted at him: "What a robbery, you son of a b***h!"

Romero is said to have mentioned Pepe's outburst in his report, meaning the incident is now likely to be reviewed by the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).