Special support for Pepe

JOSE Mourinho stood by under-fire defender Pepe yesterday and called him up to the Real Madrid squad to play Athletic Bilbao in La Liga today.

Portugal international Pepe has dominated headlines since Wednesday's 2-1 King's Cup quarterfinal first-leg defeat to Barcelona, when television cameras caught him stamping on Lionel Messi's hand when the player was on the ground.

The Madrid-based media, who are normally supportive of Real, were scathing in their criticism.

A video message he recorded for the club's website, when he said it had been unintentional and asked for forgiveness if Messi had felt offended, failed to deflect the widespread criticism.

"For me, the player has spoken, and that's the end of it," Real coach Mourinho told reporters, as he refused to answer questions.

"If Pepe says publicly that it was intentional and he tells me, it would really annoy me. But he said it wasn't intentional."

Local media had speculated that Pepe, who has struggled with a muscle injury recently, would be left out for the Bilbao game at the Bernabeu, and for the Cup second leg in Barcelona on Wednesday, while the furore died down.

"Pepe enters the squad, but we'll see how he is," Mourinho said. "I have to call up others to cover his position. If he's fine he will play."