Back when Jose Mourinho was coach of Portuguese club Porto, the team won a Champions League title and a domestic title in the same year. That year was 2003-2004. It was also the same year that Porto allegedly tried to bribe referees to make the other team’s point score stay at a big fat 0. The repurcussions of that sort of deceit only mean one thing: no Champions League for you!

European soccer’s governing body UEFA excluded Porto from next season’s Champions League on Wednesday, saying the Portuguese club had tried to influence the outcome of matches by allegedly bribing referees in the 2003-04 season. UEFA said in a statement on its Web site that the alleged bribery case meant Porto broke its rules that ban “any activity aimed at arranging or influencing the outcome of a match at national or international level.”

Sources say that Mourinho’s name hasn’t appeared within the investigation, but why do you think he coined himself “The Special One” in the first place? Because he’s a shrewd dude who flirting with every single referee in order to gain some momentum in the domestic race.

Ok, that’s a desperate lie. Yet, we do find it uncanny that these allegations focus on the year prior to Mourinho’s departure. You think he had anything to do with the bribes?

UEFA excludes Porto from Champions League [Reuters]
Image [Reuters]