The relationship between soccer and the media has not been on good terms this week. On Tuesday, three stories broke regarding major soccer personalities clashing with different media sources. Here's a survey of what happened.
Jose Mourinho's Published Comments on Samuel Eto'o
Whenever there is some sort of controversy in the soccer world, one might expect Jose Mourinho to be at the center of it. The Chelsea manager has often been outspoken in his criticism of players, media and even opponents. He reportedly made some harsh comments about some of his players during an interview with Canal Plus. They comments were cut out of the broadcast but were eventually published online before being promptly removed.
According to ESPN, Mourinho said: "The problem with Chelsea is we lack a scorer. I have one [Samuel Eto'o] but he's 32. Maybe 35, who knows?"
None of his top three options at the striker have been good this season. Fernando Torres has scored just four goals in 19 games while Eto'o has six in 17; however, the Cameroon star has not been consistent in his output as three of those goals came in one game. The worst of the three has been Demba Ba who has scored just one goal in 11 Premier League matches this season.
Mourinho was embarrassed and angry after the video of his comments was published on the Internet. He also stated that his comments were misconstrued and that he intended no malice.
"I think you should be embarrassed as media professionals because by the ethical point of view, I don't think you are happy your colleague is happy to be able to record a private conversation and to make it public," Mourinho said, according to ESPN. "The my perspective, the comment is not a good one and not one I would do in a serious way, not something I would do in an official way. First of all because I don't make fun, second if there are managers in the world that defend their players I am obviously one of them.
"I think you should all be embarrassed because it is against the ethic in your work. It is a real disgrace."
He also made sure to praise Eto'o.
"It was with him I had the best ever season of my career. He is one of the few players who is working with me at a second different club and a manager never does that when he doesn't like the player, doesn't like the person.
Did Mesut Ozil Hit a Photographer?
Life has not been good to Arsenal's Mesut Ozil. The German star has struggled in recent weeks and his poor performances hit their nadir on Wednesday when he missed a penalty shot against Bayern Munich and was the goal in Arsenal's 2-0 loss at home.
But now he might be facing bigger problems as ESPN reports that the player is under investigation for allegedly hitting a photographer with the car he was driving. Fortunately nothing happened to the photographer and police did not make any arrests. Despite the minimal repercussions it is clear that all eyes are on Ozil.
Falcao and Colombian Politics
Colombia's top star Radamel Falcao is currently injured and his chances of playing in the World Cup are hanging by a thread. But that has not stopped Colombian politicians from attempting to utilize the superstar for a campaign.
According to ESPN, Colombian candidate Jorge Franco Pineda has utilized the image of Falcao to help promote his campaign. There is no doubt that the superstar's status and endorsement of any candidate would be a major boost at the March 9 elections.
Falcao has since spoken out against the use of his image and even claimed that he was ready to take legal action against anyone that used his "trademarked" name without authorization.
"I don't support any political party, nor any Congressional candidate," Falcao wrote on his Facebook page. "Those who have used my image did so without my consent."
Pineda has reportedly apologized and will likely take a hit in his campaign due to the controversy of the story.