Jose Mourinho confronts English referee in car park after Europa League final defeat
Mourinho approached Premier League referee Anthony Taylor in the car park of the Puskas Arena after criticising his performance in the Europa League final
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Jose Mourinho confronted English referee Anthony Taylor in the car park and called him a “f***ing disgrace” after Roma’s Europa League final defeat to Sevilla.
Mourinho’s Roma side were beaten on penalties in Budapest in an ill-tempered match as Sevilla won the Europa League for the seventh time.
The manager was furious with Premier League official Taylor during the final at the Puskas Arena, with the referee showing a total of 13 yellow cards across the match.
Mourinho approached Taylor in the car park of the Puskas Arena as the referee and his officiating team were leaving the stadium.
The former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham boss could be heard shouting, “F***ing disgrace man, it’s a f***ing disgrace” in English.
Mourinho then switched to swearing in Italian and made his way back to the Roma team bus, before approaching the referee again to say, “Congratulations, you f***ing disgrace”.
Mourinho was booked during the Europa League final while seven of his Roma players were also shown yellow cards. Sevilla picked up six bookings during the final.
The 60-year-old continued to fume during his post-match press conference, where he accused Taylor of “bulls***” decisions and said Sevilla player Erik Lamela should have been sent off.
“Next year we won’t be playing the Champions League and that’s a good thing because we’re not made for it,” Mourinho said.
“And let’s hope that Taylor, only officiates games in the Champions League and does the same bull**** there that he did tonight, and not in the Europa League.
“It was an intense, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time.
“Today in all the dubious episodes, the yellow cards, the referee blew the whistle in favour of Sevilla.
“I am surprised because he is an international referee who has a great reputation.”
After giving his silver medal to a fan in the crowd, Mourinho thanked his players despite losing in penalties to Sevilla in the Europa League final in Budapest.
Mourinho was set to become the most decorated European manager in history with six trophies and after a Paulo Dybala goal put them in front it was looking likely.
Roma went on to concede an own goal and lost 4-1 in penalties when Roger Ibanez and Gianluca Mancini missed from the spot.
Mourinho told ITV Italy after the game: "I’ve won five finals and I lost this one, but I’m coming back home proud again. The boys gave everything.
"We felt pressure against a team that has more talent than us. We lost a game but not dignity.
"I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won. We had also worked hard on penalties but... we missed two - but all together, not only the penalty takers."
Includes reporting from PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments