Jose Mourinho slams Pepe for letting Portugal down with red card

Following a disappointing performance from Portugal in its 2014 World Cup opener, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho had some harsh words for Pepe, who picked up a red card during the team's 4-0 loss to Germany. 

Mourinho, who was born in Setúbal, Portugal, was unhappy with Pepe for losing his cool and sounded off during an interview with Yahoo Sports. Pepe picked up the red card after getting in the face of Germany's Thomas Muller and headbutting him in the 37th minute. Muller went on to record a hat trick as the German side dominated the match and took first place in Group G. 

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"Maybe it doesn't deserve a direct red card, but maybe it deserves [punishment]. Because in spite of not being a clear aggression, there is a body language that many, many times push the referees to have these kinds of decisions. To leave a team playing with 10 men for such a long time is obviously a big handicap for the team."

Among the criticism thrown Pepe's way by Mourinho was the fact that he was not born Portuguese (he is a naturalized citizen), so he should have been on even better behavior. 

"The fact that he's not even a Portuguese man, I think that should put even more pressure on him to behave in a certain way, which he didn't," Mourinho said.

Portugal will look to rebound on Sunday, June 22, when it takes on the United States at Arena Amazônia in Manaus. The Portuguese will be without Pepe and could also be without fellow Real Madrid teammate and starting defender Fabio Coentrao, who pulled up lame in the second half of the loss to the Germans.