UEFA have banned Jose Mourinho for four matches following his X-rated outburst towards Anthony Taylor during and following last month's Europa League final.
After losing to Spanish side Sevilla on penalties, Roma boss Mourinho confronted Taylor in the car park and labelled him a "f***ing disgrace." The English referee, 44, and his family were attacked by a mob of angry fans while leaving Budapest airport the next day.
The ban means that Mourinho will miss the first four of Roma's six Europa League group stage matches next season. In a statement issued on Wednesday, UEFA confirmed that their Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body had handed the Italian side a series of punishments, with Mourinho's being for "directing abusive language at a match official."
Roma have also been fined €50,000 (£43,000) and banned from selling tickets to their away supporters for their next Europa League trip due to "lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects, acts of damage and crowd disturbances." The club, which Mourinho has managed since the summer of 2021, have also been slapped with a €5,000 (£4,300) fine for the "improper conduct of the team" during their penalty shoutout defeat to Sevilla which saw their staff, players and substitutes shown a total of eight yellow cards.
A furious Mourinho was dismayed by Taylor's widely-applauded performance during final in Budapest, saying in his post-match press conference: " It was an intense, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time."
Ex- Premier League referee Mark Halsey was having none of it, though, as he lambasted the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager. "You can't condone the actions of Jose Mourinho, the Roma players and the Sevilla players. I think their behaviour was absolutely appalling," Halsey told talkSPORT. "That's going around the world and young children are seeing these babies, the way they act and surround the referee - it was impossible for Anthony Taylor to control.
Have your say! Is this a fair punishment for Jose Mourinho? Join the debate in the comments section.
"I really thought the [refereeing] team did exceptionally well to keep 22 players on the field of play and Anthony refereed the game exceptionally well under extreme pressure from players and team officials. It's difficult in that situation because if you start handing out early yellow cards and sending players off, people will say the referee has ruined the game."
"Referees do not want to send players off, they can only referee to the way players behave, and their behaviour was appalling. They knew what they were doing, Anthony was aware of it and it makes it so difficult for a referee to control a game like that. I felt really sorry for him. You cannot blame the officials, it's solely down to the players and the coaches."
