Mourinho Gets Four-match Ban For Insulting Referee

Jose Mourinho has been suspended for four European matches for insulting referee Anthony Taylor after Roma’s Europa League final defeat by Sevilla, UEFA announced on Wednesday.

The Portuguese confronted Taylor in a car park following Roma’s penalty shoot-out loss after a 1-1 draw in Budapest.

Mourinho has been banned from “the next four UEFA club competition matches in which he would otherwise participate, for directing abusive language at a match official”, European football’s governing body said.

His team will play in the Europa League group stage next season.

Roma have also been fined 50,000 euros ($54,744) and banned from taking away fans to their next European match “for the lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects, acts of damage and crowd disturbances”.

The Italian club were also fined 5,000 euros over the “improper conduct of their team” and ordered to “contact the Hungarian Football Federation within 30 days” to agree a settlement regarding damages caused by their supporters in the stadium.

Taylor was harassed by Roma fans at Budapest airport with his family the day after the controversial final.

Referees’ body PGMOL said: “We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final.”

Taylor booked 13 players, seven of them from Roma, while the bad-tempered game was littered with delays due to the unusually high number of fouls.

It was Sevilla’s seventh Europa League triumph and the first European final defeat of Mourinho’s managerial career.

Sevilla were not punished by UEFA despite having also been charged over a pitch invasion and the behaviour of their fans and the players.

West Ham were also fined 58,000 euros and cannot take fans to their first two Europa League away games next season following their Europa Conference League triumph over Fiorentina.

The Italian club’s captain Cristiano Biraghi suffered a head injury inflicted by a cup thrown by a West Ham supporter.

West Ham, who won the final 2-1 in Prague, were also sanctioned for a pitch invasion.

AFP