José Mourinho blamed ManU's tardiness to Tuesday's Champions League game on lack of a police escort.GETTY IMAGES
Greater Manchester Police disputed José Mourinho’s claims that ManU was "denied a police escort" to Old Trafford for Tuesday night’s Champions League match against Valencia, according to James Ducker of the London TELEGRAPH. ManU "only arrived at Old Trafford" 45 minutes before kickoff and was forced to "request the game be delayed by five minutes" to allow "more time to get ready for the game." Mourinho claimed GMP denied the club a police escort for the three-mile trip from its Lowry Hotel base in Salford to the stadium, "which led to the bus being stuck in traffic for 75 minutes." But GMP insisted ManU "knew well in advance" that it would not be getting a police escort for the game and "laid the blame firmly at the door of the club." GMP Chief Inspector Andy Sutcliffe said, "All police deployments are carried out following a comprehensive risk assessment process and, specifically in respect of escort team buses, are only ever undertaken on occasions when there is intelligence or information to suggest a risk of threat or harm to the players" (TELEGRAPH, 10/3).
