He didn’t use the word fixed, but simply hinted at irregularities but Jose Mourinho never makes allegation and hints without being perfectly clear about what he means and who he thinks is the blame for everything. The Real Madrid coach didn’t show up at the FIFA gala to see who wins the world coach of the year award, because he thinks he had no chance of winning, but not for lack of votes.
If you remember, Mourinho didn’t show up claiming he had to prepare his team for a match, but he was filmed going to watch his son play a football match, while Pep Guardiola and Vicente Del Bosque, the eventual winner, showed up as planned. Now, in an interview with the Portuguese public service broadcaster RTP, he insists the real reason he didn’t show is the irregularities in the voting he was made aware of.
How? Several people called him up to say they voted for him, but on the list FIFA published on its website, their names were attached with a different head coach.
Fifa was aware of these irregularities, knowing they were there, but did nothing to avoid them.
FIFA, as expected, denied the allegations coming from Mourinho, saying that the list of votes it published on its website was accurate. The award is voted for by national team managers and captains, as well as selected journalists. Mourinho won the award in 2010, but has finished behind Guardiola and Del Bosque in the following seasons.