Juan Foyt has shed light on one of Jose Mourinho’s trademark tactics following Villarreal's narrow defeat to Real Madrid. According to the Argentine defender, Mourinho has always sought to apply pressure from the sidelines, a tactic he employed back during his time at Tottenham.
The comments come in the wake of a tense La Liga match where Villarreal fell to Real Madrid 0-1. A pivotal moment in the encounter was the sending off of Vinicius Junior in the 72nd minute. Initially, the Brazilian had found the net, but after a VAR check, the goal was disallowed, and a red card was brandished for pulling Nathan Saliba's hair during an attack.
After the match, Foyt backed the referee's decision and pointed out that constant demands for cards from the bench can complicate the referee's job. He stated:
I think the referee handled it well.
When you’re always arguing about every incident and demanding yellow and red cards, it’s important to remember that the referee is also human and can make mistakes.
When questioned about Mourinho, with whom he worked at Tottenham, Foyt replied:
I don’t want to talk about Mourinho. I know him from our time at Tottenham.
That’s always been his style — trying to create pressure from the sidelines. He did the same with us at Tottenham.
And it seems that it worked. But I have nothing bad to say about him.
Foyt played for Tottenham between 2017 and 2021, but only made three appearances under Mourinho. The defender refrained from delving into a detailed analysis of the referee's performance and reiterated that he did not wish to engage in further debate.
He added:
There are just different ways of perceiving football.
I don’t want to stir up controversy or make any strange statements.
I think the referee made the right decision in a very difficult situation. Real really needed the three points, and they got them. We will work on our mistakes.
