Jose Mourinho: Roma Boss Defends Former Player and Sampdoria Boss Stankovic Against Racist Fans

• AS Roma mounted a late surge to beat Sampdoria 3-0 at the Stadio Olimpico
• Jose Mourinho went up against his former Inter Milan player Dejan Stankovic
• Georgino Wijnaldum, Paulo Dybala and Stephan El Shaarawy got among the goals

AS Roma took advantage of a red card to mount a late fight and beat Sampdoria 3-0 to return to winning ways after two consecutive losses in Serie A.

Jose Mourinho, absent for the previous losses due to his two-game touchline ban, returned to the dugout in the league, and it was a meeting with his former Inter Milan player Dejan Stankovic.

Former Liverpool midfielder Georgino Wijnaldum opened the scoring in the 57th minute, just five minutes after Jeison Murillo was red carded. Paulo Dybala's penalty and Stephan El Shaarawy's beautiful strike rounded up the game in the latter stages.

According to Football Italia, the red card incident spurred Stankovic to protest loudly on the timeline. Roma fans responded with insults and racial chants towards him.

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Mourinho defends Stankovic

The Serbian was Mourinho's former player at Inter Milan and won the Italian Serie A, UEFA Champions League and Coppa Italia in the 2009/10 season.

The Special One came in defence of his former star by beckoning the fans to stop the chants and spoke on the incident after the game.

“You don’t have to thank me, I did it for a great man and friend. I’ve been insulted many times and in different ways in the stadiums of this world, I’ve built a wall around me for protection and I’m sure Deki did the same. He’s a big man but he’s got kids and a family,” he told DAZN via Tutto Mercato.

The 44-year-old appreciated the gesture from his former boss during his post-match conference, reiterating he is proud of his roots.

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“I thank Jose, because I didn’t even notice, but as for the chants, I am proud of who I am. I am proud to be a gypsy,” he said.

Napoli fans brawl inside stadium

Italian football was rocked by a series of ugly incidents over the weekend. Giallorossi were not the only fan to go irate during a match.

Neapolitans went wild and fought during their game against Milan to protest against club president Aurelio De Laurentiis, as Sports Brief earlier reported.

The Partenopei ultras agreed on a silent strike to protest against rising ticket costs and increased security. Some sections of the fans went against the agreement, which led to brawls breaking out on multiple occasions.