Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte hit back at Jose Mourinho on Friday by suggesting the Manchester United boss has senile dementia.
Mourinho, who has had two spells as Chelsea boss and is Conteās immediate predecessor, appeared to take a swipe at the Italian ā and Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ā for their antics in the technical area at his United press conference on Thursday when he said he did not feel the need to behave like āa clownā on the touchline.
Asked about Mourinhoās comments on Friday, Conte used the Italian phrase ādemenza senileā in relation to the Portuguese, which translates as senile dementia.
Conte said: āI think he has to see himself in the past ā maybe he was speaking about himself in the past.
āMaybe, sometimes, I think that someone forgets whatās said in the past, which is his behaviour.
āSometimes I think there is, I donāt know the name, but demenza senileā¦ when you forget what you do in the past.ā
Conte is in his second season as Chelsea head coach, like Mourinho is at United.
Mourinho was sacked by Chelsea for a second time in December 2015 and the Blues finished 10th, with Conte guiding them to the title in his first season as boss.
Conte added of the Portuguese: āThere is a person that continues to look here. You understand? He went away, but he continued to look here.ā
The Italian, whose side play at Norwich in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, described the verbal sparring between Premier League bosses as āvery strangeā.
He added: āI donāt like to speak about the other coach, about the other players. I think itās a form of respect.ā
But Conte also responded to comments from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger on Friday.
Wenger accused Eden Hazard of diving to earn a penalty in Wednesdayās 2-2 Premier League draw, but Conte reckons other decisions went the Gunnersā way and referred to previous meetings, too.
Conte said: āI think if Arsene Wenger watched the game again, (he would) understand he was very lucky during the game with the refereeās decisions.
āDonāt forget, in the last few games (with Arsenal) we finished the game with 10 men, when they won the FA Cup, the Community Shield. I think the refereeās decision were a bit strange.
āIf I want I can talk about refereeing decisions for one month. But I donāt want to do this. I think we must have respect for refereesā decisions.
āI think Wenger has to accept the decisions. Heās an old coach, he has a lot of experience, he won a lot. He has to continue to do what he did in the past.ā