Jose Mourinho said yesterday that Vertonghen’s behaviour was a disgrace and that he should be handed a three match ban for “pretending he was injured” after a challenge from Fernando Torres that led to a second yellow card for the striker in the sides 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
He also mentioned that Vertonghenshould have been sent off for the challenge he made in Spurs’ midweek game against Aston Villa on Tuesday.
Torres received his first caution after tripping Vertonghen, the player also appeared to scratch the Belgian’s face but the incident wasn’t seen by referee Mike Dean.
The Spaniard will now face an automatic one-match ban for his dismissal and could face further punishment for the scratch if the Football Association uses video evidence to review the incident.
Mourinho admitted the footage “does not look good” but launched an extended attack on Vertonghen’s integrity. “It looks worse when a player pretends he is injured,” Mourinho said. “I think, for me, that is the worst thing because you can lose your control. How many times have I done that? But he [Vertonghen] pushed the referee for a bad decision. Some foreign players when they come to England still keep their culture and it’s a disgrace you do that to a person from your same job.
“If I am on the committee I give three matches to this guy and say ‘don’t do that again’. Don’t kill the show. It’s a show for millions of people and you kill the show because you want to be clever.”