Mourinho blames police for United bus delay

Posted Wednesday, October 03, 2018 by Goal.com

The manager said a lack of an escort was to blame after taking more than an hour to get from the team hotel to the ground
Jose Mourinho claims Manchester United were denied a police escort for their Champions League clash with Valencia, leading to the team's late arrival at Old Trafford.

Kick-off had to be delayed by five minutes owing to traffic issues around the stadium, with the United squad themselves among those caught up in the hold-ups on Tuesday.

A journey to the ground expected to take 30 minutes took more than an hour, ahead of a goalless draw that did little to lift United out of their current poor form.

And Mourinho levelled the blame squarely at the feet of local police for causing unnecessary problems for United in the build-up to the match.

"We left the hotel at 6 p.m. hoping that 30 minutes would be enough. It usually is.

"But this time the police refused to do an escort, so we came by ourselves.

"From the Lowry Hotel we took 75 minutes.

"UEFA and the referee were nice to allow the match to start five minutes late.

"It was not a problem with club organisation. We were informed that the police refused an escort."