Jose Mourinho hit with lengthy ban over Anthony Taylor comments
By Tom Gott
UEFA have hit Jose Mourinho with a four-game ban as a result of his comments about referee Anthony Taylor following the Europa League final.
Mourinho accused Taylor of bias towards Sevilla during the game, which the Spanish side ended up winning on penalties, and also confronted the official in the car park afterwards to brand his performance a 'f*****g disgrace'.
Unsurprisingly, a UEFA charge followed and a four-game suspension has now been handed out to Mourinho.
The ban will only apply to European games, meaning Mourinho will miss his side's first four matches in the 2023/24 Europa League.
Roma have been handed a €55,000 fine for various offences, including crowd disturbances, the lighting of fireworks and causing damage to the stadium. The Giallorossi will also not be permitted to sell tickets to their next away game.
UEFA's minimum punishment for the use of abusive language towards an official is a two-game suspension, but Mourinho will serve double that due to the nature of his comments.
PGMOL, the governing body for referees, condemned Mourinho's conduct towards Taylor and many former officials called for significant suspensions for the Roma manager as a real deterrent for offenders at all levels of football.
Urs Meier, a Swiss former official who retired after receiving death threats for disallowing a Sol Campbell goal at Euro 2024, even called for a one-year ban, pointing to Mourinho's track record when it comes to criticising referees.
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