“I know why the caged bird sings, ah me,
When his wing is bruised and his bosom sore,
When he beats his bars and would be free;
It is not a carol of joy or glee,
But a prayer that he sends from his heart’s deep core,
But a plea, that upward to Heaven he flings –
I know why the caged bird sings”
From Sympathy by Paul Laurence Dunbar
Jose Mourinho was hit with a three match ban for insulting officials and making a “handcuffs’ gesture during the match with Sampdoria.
His punishment was for “having repeatedly contested the referee’s decisions during the course of the game with dramatic behaviour including … the handcuffs gesture … (and) for having insulted the referee and his assistants during the interval.”
The above picture is evocative of a man signifying by his gesture, a system that has prejudged him. He has already decided he will not get a fair hearing. The corollary, is a man in chains. Jose Mourinho is by his looks and behaviour, sick of Italy and football there. He longs to get out. The Premiership beckons!