Manuel Pellegrini Was Right to Refuse to Shake Jose Mourinho's Hand

Manchester City’s 2-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge was shrouded in controversy as Manuel Pellegrini refused to shake hands with Jose Mourinho at the full-time whistle.

Pellegrini was incensed by Mourinho’s celebration for Fernando Torres’ winner, which saw the Chelsea boss jump into the crowd behind the City dugout. The City boss was clearly irked by an incident which he saw as indicative of Mourinho's lack of respect.

Mourinho told reporters afterwards, via Sam Wallace of The Independent:

"

Look, I think Chelsea is guilty because I want to buy a season ticket for my son, and they give them a season ticket behind the away dug-out. They have to change it. I went for him. I promise. I went for him. The next match you’ll see him there again.

But this is the drama of the last year. I beat City in the last minute in Madrid, and I slid on my knees and destroyed the trousers. I lost [a lead] in the last minute against Bayern Munich and it was like somebody put a knife in my back and I didn’t see. This is the emotion. If they [City] believe my son is there, great. If they don’t believe, I apologise, if they feel I did something wrong.

"

Pellegrini was clearly angry, saying:

"I didn’t expect anything else. It is a different way to celebrate from me. I didn’t shake hands. Because I didn’t want to."

Asked to elaborate, he said:

"I repeat, I didn’t want to shake hands. I don’t want to say more."

The two managers, of course, have history going back to their time managing in Spain. Mourinho replaced Pellegrini as Real Madrid boss, and ahead of a match between Real and Pellegrini's Malaga, Mourinho was quoted as saying, via Ben Rumsby of The Telegraph:

"Second place is just the first loser. If Madrid were to fire me, I wouldn’t go to Malaga. I’d go to a top-level team in Italy or England."

Many observers will be critical of Pellegrini's refusal to shake hands and will likely cite the old, "it goes against the spirit of the game" refrain, but it's difficult to blame the Chilean. Mourinho's celebration was disrespectful and should be condemned.

It's not to say managers shouldn't show passion, but they must be in control of their actions. To celebrate behind the opposition bench violates an unwritten code of conduct.

His "apology" during the aftermatch press conference was flimsy, to say the least, delivered with an "if they believe me" caveat that suggests he doesn't really see what was wrong with his actions.

This type of Mourinho arrogance is nothing new.

Whilst he is undoubtedly one of the finest managers of his generation, he is also no stranger to controversy, having been involved in a series of unsavoury incidents during his career, including the gouging of Tito Vilanova's eye and his insistence on setting up his Real Madrid side to kick lumps out of the vastly superior Barcelona during his time in Spain.

Mourinho has made it clear throughout his career he isn't concerned by showing respect, only results.

City have may have lost the match, but they can be thankful, at least, that their new manager would never engage in the type of behaviour Mourinho very often does.

Pellegrini versus Mourinho looks set to become a grudge match for the foreseeable future.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2013-14 season. Follow him on Twitter here @TypicalCity.