Jose Mourinho proved his class as he stepped in to defend Sampdoria manager Dejan Stankovic from the Roma fans.
It signalled a touching reunion between the manager and his former Inter Milan player.
The pair embraced before the matchup at Stadio Olimpico, however, the Portuguese coach showed the importance of their relationship during a moment later on in the match.
Sampdoria had gone down to 10 men and the Serbian coach reacted furiously.
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Unfortunately, this led to ‘racist chants’ directed toward him from the Roma ultras in the Curva Sud, according to Barstool Football.
Stankovic had played for Roma’s rivals Lazio during his career and had often found himself on the end of deplorable chants during his time there.
In this instance, however, Mourinho decided to intervene in an attempt to stop the fans and their chants.
He stepped out of his technical area and walked outward to the fans down there and signalled to them to stop by holding out his hand.
He clearly looked unhappy with the actions of the Roma ultras.
However, his orders seemed to have worked as they soon stopped their singing and instead resorted to boos.
The former Chelsea boss gave the fans a thumbs up afterwards in what appeared to be an acknowledgement that they had cut short their chants.
Mourinho was asked about the gesture after the match and gave an equally class response.
He said: “I did it for a great man and a great friend. He has kids and a family. Our fans are great but my friends aren't being touched.”
The football community were full of respect for his actions.
One wrote: “Class that from Mourinho. Racism doesn’t belong ANYWHERE on a football pitch.”
Another said: “You can see the disgust in his face.”
A third added: “Sad to see but well done Jose… he’s the man.”
Roma went on to run out 3-0 winners against Sampdoria.
Topics: Jose Mourinho, AS Roma, Serie A
Jayden Collins