Jose Mourinho labels £50,000 FA fine 'an absolute disgrace' as Chelsea manager risks further action
Mourinho was given a £50,000 fine and a suspended one-match ban for suggesting Chelsea are not given decisions by referees
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Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho has risked further disciplinary action as Chelsea’s Premier League title defence continues to descend into a farce after he described the £50,000 Football Association fine as “an absolute disgrace”.
The Chelsea manager was hit with the sanction and given a suspended one match-stadium ban after he accepted a misconduct charge by the FA for his comments following the 3-1 defeat by Southampton at the start of October in the Blues’ most recent outing.
With the Premier League set to resume this weekend, Mourinho faced the media on Thursday evening to promote his new book MOURINHO, but he could not help himself by hitting out at the action taken against him.
"Every word I say is a big risk for me,” Mourinho said.
"I am happy that I don't have an electronic tag. I think it's not far from (that).
"I also think that £50,000 in the world where we live today is an absolute disgrace.
"And I also think that the possibility of getting a stadium ban is also something absolutely astonishing."
After rounding on the FA, Mourinho once again renewed his rivalry with Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger. The pair have endured a negative relationship during their time in the top flight, and Mourinho highlighted Wenger’s comments regarding referee Mike Dean – who he described as “weak and naïve” after the Gunners were beaten by Chelsea – that went unsanctioned.
Yet Mourinho was disciplined for claiming that “referee are afraid to give decisions to Chelsea” after he felt referee Robert Madeley has wrongly not given his side a penalty against Saints, and Mourinho urged the press to “go deep” and examine why his relationship with the FA is so poor.
Mourinho also remains irked by his clash with Wenger in the Stamford Bridge technical area last season, and he added: "There is something that, now, we know. One, we can push people in the technical area.
"The word 'afraid' is a punishment, and a hard punishment. To say the referee was 'weak and naive'... we can do."
Chelsea’s disastrous starts to the season, which sees them down in 16th and 10 points off leaders Manchester City, has led to reports that Mourinho is in danger of losing the dressing room at Stamford Bridge. But in an interview with Talksport, he dismissed these claims as “sad” and said that he still has the full backing of the plays.
"It's sad but I don't care really, I don't care,” said Mourinho. “I spoke with the players about it and the players are also sad about it, but there is no way to care."
Turning his attention to himself, the 52-year-old admitted that the new book – which chronicles his 15-management career in pictures – signals the halfway mark in his plans, and he claims he will give football another 15 years before retiring from what is inlikely to be the Chelsea job.
"I'm in the middle (of my career): I did 15, I have 15 more to do. I'll finish at 67. Maybe later if I can,” he added.
"Can I stay 15 more years at Chelsea Football Club? I don't think so.
"I don't think modern football allows it anymore, so normally I will not finish my career at Chelsea. I would like to, but I don't think it's possible."
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