Mourinho defends opponents in front of Roma fans

In the 52nd minute, midfielder Jeison Murillo cut down Tammy Abraham and received a second yellow card, making Sampdoria play short of people. Off the touchline, Stankovic was unhappy and reacted violently.

In response, the fanatical group of Roma fans at the Curva Sud - the southern stand area behind the goal of the Olimpico stadium - began to make insulting and racist words against Stankovic - the former Serbian midfielder who played for Lazio in the period 1998-2004.

Immediately, Mourinho left the technical area and waved his hand to ask this group of fans to stop. When no more insults were heard, the "Special One" gave a thumbs up to thank them for their cooperation.

After the match, Stankovic thanked his old teacher Mourinho. Sampdoria's current coach stressed that he does not care about racist words in the stands and is "proud of who he is".

In response, Mourinho said Stankovic didn't need to thank him because he just followed instinct. The Portuguese coach added: "I have also been insulted many times in different ways. I have built a protective wall around me, and Stankovic has done the same. He is a great person, but anyways. Those insults are not good for Stankovic's family. He is my friend and holds an inviolable place in my heart."

The match between Roma and Sampdoria yesterday was also an opportunity for Mourinho to reunite with his old game Stankovic. The two hugged and had a short chat before kick-off. Stankovic played under Mourinho when with Inter won the legendary treble in 2010, including Serie A, Champions League and Italian Cup.

Mourinho once played Stankovic for the first time in the first leg in October 2022. And the two were also very friendly on the field at Luigi Ferraris that day, when the Portuguese coach hugged, kissed the top of the head and chatted briefly with his former student and now colleague before the ball kicked off.

"It was a special hug and Stankovic was a special person," Mourinho said after the game. "I don't know if I can reveal what I said to Stankovic. But one of them was 'Remember that crazy goal scored here?' In that game, Stankovic scored from midfield. Stankovic said he was interested in me, I replied the same and we will see each other later."

On the Olimpico field yesterday, taking advantage of the advantage, Roma scored three goals from Georginio Wijnaldum, Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy to rise to fifth with 50 points, equal to Inter and one point behind Milan. Meanwhile, Stankovic's Sampdoria stomped on 19th place with 15 points, ten points behind the safety group.

On April 8, Mourinho's teachers and students were guests of Torino, and Sampdoria returned home to receive Cremonese in the 29th round of Serie A.