Jose Mourinho refuses to conduct Manchester United press conference in 40C room in Beijing

Manchester United's pre-season tour descended into farce in China as Jose Mourinho was forced to conduct an open-air press conference - because of the sweltering heat.

Mourinho refused to conduct his media conference - ahead of Monday's clash with Manchester City in Beijing - in a cramped room at Beijing's Olympic Sports Centre because of the temperature.

United's training session and Mourinho's press conference were switched from the Bird's Nest Stadium, where the game is being held, because of problems with the pitch.



Twitter/@DiscoMirrorJose Mourinho conducting press conference by side of pitchMourinho ordered the press conference to be conducted outside due to soaring temperatures
Twitter/@DiscoMirrorJose Mourinho press conference in BeijingThe packed press room in Beijing was deemed too hot to host the press conference


But the room in which Mourinho was due to face the world's media had no air conditioning and, with temperatures nudging 40C inside, the Special One refused to carry out his Press duties there.


Man Utd via GettyJose Mourinho speaks during a press conference by the side of pitch at the Olympic Sports Centre StadiumMourinho stands as the media listen in at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium in Beijing
Man Utd via GettyJose Mourinho speaks during a press conference by the side of pitch at the Olympic Sports Centre StadiumLarge numbers attended the press conference in China
VIEW GALLERY Jose Mourinho speaks during a press conference by the side of pitch at the Olympic Sports Centre Stadium

So the United boss, who was distinctly unimpressed by the poor facilities for him and his players, was forced to conduct his press conference by the side of the pitch at the Olympic Sports Centre.

City boss Pep Guardiola had earlier in the day conducted his own pre-match press conference in the same room Mourinho had refused to enter.

But with more media - around 100 - crammed into the room for Mourinho than there were for Guardiola, the temperature became unbearable, forcing the United boss to cancel it.