José Mourinho faces at least a two-game touchline ban after being charged by Uefa over his behaviour towards the referee Anthony Taylor after the Europa League final this week.
The Roma manager was filmed haranguing Taylor at length in a VIP car park after his team were defeated by Sevilla on penalties. Taylor was subsequently targeted by Roma fans at Budapest airport.
Mourinho, if found guilty, will be banned from the dugout for a minimum of two matches. In a flurry of other disciplinary measures, Roma were charged over crowd disturbances among their fans and “acts of damage”. Sevilla were charged after their supporters invaded the pitch and both teams were charged over the lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects and alleged improper conduct of their teams.
Mourinho was filmed shouting abuse at Taylor in English and Italian before leaving the Puskas Arena in Budapest. The Portuguese was seen swearing at the English official and calling him a “disgrace”. Towards the end of about 50 seconds of criticism he walked up to the passenger door of what appears to be the van in which Taylor is to be driven away.
Mourinho also went on a lengthy diatribe regarding Taylor’s performance in his press conference, though the charge does not relate to these remarks. “This is a European final and with this kind of refereeing, it is hard to accept,” he said. “If we talk about refereeing situations, it’s not two or three: it is many, quite apart from the big decisions. Those of us who have been in football a long time realise immediately what is going on.
“[Lorenzo] Pellegrini falls in box and given a yellow card; [Lucas] Ocampos did exactly the same thing and he doesn’t get one. It’s a scandal. VAR called the referee and shames Ocampos but there’s no card given. [Érik] Lamela – who, by the way, scored one of the penalties – deserved a second yellow but didn’t get it. And let’s not even talk about the big decisions. That’s just the small details.”
After Mourinho’s actions, which were widely shared on social media, Taylor was accosted by Roma fans while waiting for a flight with his family. Video footage showed a chair and a bottle being hurled in his direction. On Friday Sky News reported that one man had been charged with affray by Budapest police.
Uefa said it “vehemently condemns” the behaviour, called on players, coaches and fans to “treat referees with dignity and respect” and indicated it could make provision for greater security for match officials.
“Uefa maintains a close collaboration with local police and airport security starting from the referees’ arrival in host cities” it said. “However, we are constantly striving to enhance the security measures for officials in coordination with local authorities. We will carefully assess the incidents and incorporate valuable insights into our future event planning processes.”
The Premier League said it was “shocked and appalled by the unacceptable abuse directed at Anthony Taylor and his family”.
