Mourinho reiterated that Hjulmand is favoured by the referees.

Back in December, Mourinho criticised the referees in the Portuguese league for their treatment of Hjulmand, and by the end of the week, he reiterated that the Danish player was given "permission to act freely" by the referees.

"The Special One" spoke in a mocking tone, implying that "Hjulmand only speaks Portuguese to communicate with the goalkeepers".

“That's something we need to consider with regard to the next foreign players who could come to Benfica. Usually, when a player comes to a different country and wants to learn the language, we praise that in Portugal — and that's also what I care about when working abroad.”

"But the goal is usually to adapt socially, work better and improve relationships with teammates. Learning a language to communicate better with referees — that's great."

According to the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, Mourinho sarcastically said: "If a foreign player comes to Benfica, it will be our motivation to help him learn Portuguese quickly. It's a great situation."

FC Porto currently top the Primeira Liga in Portugal, holding a strong lead over their rivals Sporting CP and Benfica.