Roma head coach Jose Mourinho has been banned for the team’s next four European games by UEFA for verbally abusing the referee after the Italian club lost in the Europa League final to Sevilla on May 31.
Footage circulated of the Roma coach approaching English referee Anthony Taylor in the stadium garage after the game in Budapest, Hungary, and calling him a “disgrace” with an expletive.
Roma lost a penalty shootout to Sevilla after a 1-1 draw that was the Italian club’s last chance to qualify for the Champions League next season.
Mourinho is set to serve the ban in next season’s Europa League group stage after being found guilty of “directing abusive language at a match official,” UEFA said in a statement announcing its disciplinary panel’s verdict.
The ban is double the minimum two-game ban required by UEFA disciplinary rules.
One day after the final, Taylor and his family were harassed by Roma fans at the airport in Budapest.
UEFA also fined Roma €50,000 ($54.7m) and will block the club from selling tickets for its next away game in the Europa League. The charges included “lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects, acts of damage and crowd disturbances,” UEFA said.
Roma must also contact the Hungarian football federation to settle damages caused by its fans at Puskas Arena.
Source: ESPN
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