Speaking at the Leaders Sport Business Summit on Wednesday, Mourinho asserted that: “There is no racism in football. If you are good, you get the job. Football is not stupid to close the doors to top people.”
The Portuguese tactician’s comments were not well received, with Jeffrey Webb, the president of CONCACAF and a FIFA vice-president, suggesting that racism in football is evident right on Mourinho’s doorstep in the form of Chelsea coach Eddie Newton.
“I don’t think Eddie Newton would agree with what Mourinho said. You have a coach who won the Champions League doing well at a club,” Webb has been quoted as saying by The Sun.
“He can’t even get an interview. We are not talking about a job. An interview. That is not hidden. That is the reality that we face.
“I don’t know how it could be hidden. You have 92 clubs and two coaches of colour. How many board members and executives in the FA and FIFA? It is not hidden.
“It is hidden from a discussion point of view. No-one wants to deal with it. We have got a huge fight on our hands. We have to have one or two managers through who are very successful.
“Once they get that opportunity and they are successful, that might change the mentality and the landscape that currently exists.”