UEFA have singled out Jose Mourinho as they announced a raft of charges against Roma and Sevilla for their antics during Wednesday's Europa League final.
Mourinho confronted referee Anthony Taylor in the car park after his side's defeat on penalties in Budapest, as well as taking aim at the official in his post-match press conference. That has now seen him charged for using Insulting and/or abusive language against a match official by the governing body.
The game was ill-tempered throughout, with Taylor also being attacked in the airport as he attempted to make his way home on Thursday. Taylor handed out 13 yellow cards during the game as he was consistently surrounded by both sets of players after blowing up for fouls.
Those antics led to widespread condemnation from the football community, with Taylor defended for his performance. And UEFA have now acted to discipline both sides for their actions during the final.
"Disciplinary proceedings have been instigated in accordance with Article 55 of the UEFA Disciplinary Regulations (DR) following the UEFA Europa League final match between Sevilla FC and AS Roma (1-1) played on 31 May 2023 in Budapest, Hungary," a statement from UEFA read.
"Charges against Sevilla FC: Invasion of the field of play, Art. 16(2)(a) DR; Throwing of objects, Art. 16(2)(b) DR; Lighting of fireworks, Art. 16(2)(c) DR; Improper conduct of team, Art: 15(4) DR.
"Charges against AS Roma: Throwing of objects, Art. 16(2)(b) DR; Lighting of fireworks, Art. 16(2)(c) DR; Acts of damage, Art. 16(2)(f) DR; Crowd disturbances, Art. 16(2)(h) DR; Improper conduct of team, Art: 15(4) DR; Insulting / abusive language against a match official (Mr. José Mourinho), Article 15(1)(b) DR.
"The UEFA Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body (CEDB) will decide on the matter in due course."
Mourinho had criticised the number of bookings Taylor handed out over the course of the game. But former top official Mark Halsey leapt to the Englishman's defence and slammed the antics of both sets of players.
"You can’t condone the actions of Jose Mourinho, the Roma players and the Sevilla players. I think their behaviour was absolutely appalling. That’s going around the world and young children are seeing these babies," he told talkSPORT.
"The way they act and surround the referee – it was impossible for Anthony Taylor to control. I really thought the 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."
