What was ITV thinking when it cut short its interview with Jose Mourinho just as he appeared to be on the verge of revealing he will be at Chelsea next season? Money, apparently.
Following Real Madrid’s exit from the Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund, Mourinho spoke with ITV reporter Gabriel Clarke even though ‘The Special One’ was only contractually obligated to speak to TV channels from Spain and Germany.
In the surprise interview, which was landed with only two minutes left before the end of ITV’s coverage, Clarke asked, “Maybe next season with Real?”
Mourinho responded, “Maybe not… I want to be where people love me.” With the hook set all Clarke had to do was follow up with Mourinho as to where that meant he’d likely end up but instead responded with, “We’ll take that as England, we’ve got to go.”
With fans on the edge of their seats waiting to hear Mourinho confirm what had long been rumored – that he would be returning to Chelsea this summer – ITV’s decision to opt for an advertisement drew widespread criticism. ITV has since responded to that criticism by claiming that going on with the interview and cutting the pre-paid advert would have cost the network half a million pounds.
In response to the criticism an ITV spokesman had the following to say: “Our reporter, Gabriel Clarke, and the team managed to land an unexpected interview with Jose Mourinho with only two minutes or so left before the end of last night’s programme.
“Unfortunately, at that point it was too late to arrange an overrun of the broadcast beyond the allotted time. However, in a tight, live situation, we decided to show as much as we could of their exchange to viewers.” ITV also noted that their complex advertising structure would have cost them upwards of $778,500 (£500,000) if they decided to cut the adverts and run a longer Mourinho interview.
At a press conference held later in the evening Mourinho noted his admiration for Madrid’s fans but nevertheless stated: “I know in England I’m loved. I’m loved by the fans, I’m loved by the media that treats me in a fair way, criticising me but giving me credit when I deserve it.
“I know I’m loved by some clubs, especially one, and in Spain, the situation is a bit different because some people hate me. Many of you are in this room.”
It wasn’t the first time ITV has dropped the ball on its coverage of the beautiful game. In June 2010 it was forced to apologize after their HD coverage cut off Steven Gerrard’s opening World Cup goal for England against the United States after the broadcast was unexpectedly switched to a Hyundai commercial. In February 2009, the network enraged fans when Dan Gosling’s dramatic winner for Everton in the Merseyside FA Cup derby was missed due to an unexplained cut to an advert.
The result leaves Chelsea supporters and unbiased lovers of ‘The Special One’ waiting for the announcement that will be sure to rock the Premier League this summer. And while ITV could easily have managed to continue the interview while cutting an extra minute off the news that followed, it nevertheless appears an inevitability that Mourinho will be returning to Stamford Bridge.
