Jose Mourinho has been charged with insulting and abusing a match official, the governing body UEFA has said, after the football manager was filmed shouting at officials following AS Roma's loss to Sevilla in the Europa League final. Mourinho was critical of the refereeing after the game, saying: "It was an intense, masculine, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time." The Roma manager was then seen shouting abuse at English referee Anthony Taylor in the VIP car park following the Italian team's defeat to Sevilla in the Europa League final.
It comes as new footage has surfaced capturing the terrifying abuse hurled at Taylor and his family by a group of Roma fans at Budapest Airport after the Italian side's defeat by Sevilla. A video of the incident shows dozens of football fans standing up from their seats at a café and surrounding Taylor and his family while filming him with their phones.
The 44-year-old referee can be seen getting up from his table and picking up his bags while he speaks to his family as the fans encircle them, chanting abuse and insults following the ill-tempered final on Wednesday. Two airport security guards remain close to them as the fans continue to shout, and the family is soon ushered out of the café and into a secure area away as the supporters hound him. The clip also shows a chair and a bottle being thrown in the direction of Taylor and his group, which included two women.
The Premier League has condemned fans following the abuse Taylor and his family faced after the UEFA Europa League Final. A spokesperson said: "We are shocked and appalled by the unacceptable abuse directed at Anthony Taylor and his family as they travelled back from the UEFA Europa League Final. No one should have to suffer the inexcusable behaviour they had to endure yesterday. Anthony is one of our most experienced and accomplished match officials and we fully support him and his family." PGMOL, the English referees body, said in a statement it was "aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport. We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final," it said. "We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family."
In a statement supplied to Sky News, Budapest Airport said a 42-year-old Italian citizen involved in the incident was "apprehended by the police and criminal proceedings have been initiated on charges of affray". It added: "Fans of the losing Roma team recognised the referee in the food court of the airport, where he was waiting for his flight to depart. Thanks to the airport operator's close cooperation with the police and the increased police presence at the airport during the arrival and departure of the fans, the authorities intervened immediately, and the referee was escorted to a lounge and boarded his flight safely, accompanied by police officers. Budapest Airport and the police wish to make it clear that there is zero tolerance towards violence of any kind towards passengers or staff working at the airport."
Sevilla won on penalties to condemn Roma manager Jose Mourinho to his first defeat in a European final after a match that saw Premier League referee Taylor dish out 14 yellow cards, the most ever in a Europa League game, and play almost 30 minutes of stoppage time in total. After the game, footage that has been shared widely on social media showed Mourinho directing a string of expletives towards the officials in the car park, labelling their performance a "disgrace".
Source: SkyNews
