Jose Mourinho Banned During Benfica vs Porto: Storm for Being Called a Traitor

JAKARTA - Benfica manager Jose Mourinho accused FC Porto assistant manager Luis 'Lucho' Gonzalez of calling him a traitor 50 times during the 2-2 draw on Monday, March 9, 2026, early morning WIB.

Mourinho was sent off in the 91st minute against his former club after being deemed to have kicked a ball towards the visitors' bench.

Luis Gonzalez was also sent off shortly afterwards after getting into an altercation with Mourinho.

"He called me a traitor 50 times. I want him to explain to me what a traitor is? I went to FC Porto, I gave my soul to FC Porto."

"I went to Chelsea, I went to Inter Milan, to Real Madrid, I traveled the world and gave 24 hours of my life every day. That's called professionalism."

"When he went to Marseille (from FC Porto in 2009), did he betray FC Porto? He could have insulted me in other ways, maybe he would have thought it was better, but I think it was an attack on my professionalism."

"I don't like it. The insults from the fans are one thing, this is football. It's the same fans, who are with me when I walk around the city."

"Now, from a fellow professional, he's a professional like me. He's defended a few jerseys throughout his career, I don't understand."

"Why the traitor? Because he gave everything for Benfica?" Mourinho said about Gonzalez, as reported by ESPN.

Gonzalez joined FC Porto in 2005, one year after Mourinho moved to Chelsea after leading the Dragoes to Champions League glory.

The 45-year-old coach played for six seasons at FC Porto in two periods before becoming assistant coach to Francesco Farioli in July 2025.

Meanwhile, Mourinho previously led Porto to two league titles and one Europa League.

The 63-year-old coach got his first experience as a first-team manager in 2000 at Benfica and returned to the club in September 2025 shortly after being sacked by Fenerbahce.

Despite the dispute, the draw against Porto puts Benfica in third place in the Primeira Liga standings, seven points behind the Dragoes at the top.

"There are still 27 points to be fought for. I consider chasing seven points difficult. I have been saying this since the beginning of the season."

"It's very easy to identify how FC Porto play, it's very difficult to play against them. I think it won't be easy for FC Porto to lose more points. However, as long as it's just math, anything can happen," said Mourinho.