Lionel Messi's father criticizes Jose Mourinho's comments after Real Madrid's defeat to Barcelona

Posted Friday, April 29, 2011 by YAHOO Sport

Lionel Messi’s father has criticized the approach of Jose Mourinho following Real Madrid’s defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.

The nine-time European champions suffered a 2-0 loss to its archrivals at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the club's semifinal tie and are now seemingly on the verge of exiting competition.

After the match, Mourinho complained about the referee’s decision to send Pepe off in the early minutes of the second half for his challenge on Daniel Alves and claimed that it was a “scandal” at the Bernabeu.

The father of Lionel Messi, Jorge, has now given his take on the matter and says that Mourinho was wrong to vent in the manner he did after the clash.

“It was bad, very bad,” said Jorge Messi, according to Goal.com Spain. “I can understand that the game was heated.

“I cannot tell if it was right to show him [Pepe] the red card or not but I agree that it was the turning point. But until then, Madrid played badly.

“Mourinho’s approach was very conservative,” he added.

Jorge was delighted to watch his son Lionel score both the goals, the second one of the finest strikes in a Clasico.

“I told him [Lionel] that they would win 2-0 and that he would score both the goals,” enthused Jorge, who then jokingly added: “Paul the Octopus is useless, you have to listen to me.”

The second leg of the semifinal tie between Barcelona and Madrid is at Camp Nou next week.