Europa League final Referee, Anthony Taylor, being attacked, hounded and abused by angry Roma fans at the airport.
Sevilla won on penalties to condemn Mourinho to his first defeat in a European final after an ill-tempered match which saw British referee Taylor dishing out 14 yellow cards, the most ever in a Europa League game, and playing almost 30 minutes of stoppage time in total.
“It was an intense, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time,” Mourinho said.
Mourinho was seen clashing with officials throughout the match, shouting on the edge of the pitch and being restrained while arguing in extra time.
At least three cards were handed out to people on the Roma bench, including Mourinho, on top of the 13 given to players.
Seven Roma players were booked during the final, a record in the Europa League showpiece, with six members of the Sevilla side also booked.
The game dragged with 25 minutes of injury time across the four halves.
At one point, Roma’s Nemanja Matic stopped play with exhaustion from the heat.
Sevilla’s bench jumped up in frustration, only adding to Mourinho’s ire.
The Roma coach seen clashing with Sevilla’s staff on the edge of the pitch, requiring backup keeper Mile Svilar to step in and restrain him. Taylor stepped in and slapped Mourinho with a yellow card, before the Roma coach shook hands with Sevilla’s Joan Jordan to restore order.
Roma’s players were also incredulous that Erik Lamela was not shown a second yellow late on for a cynical foul – before he went on to score in the shootout. There were also appeals for a penalty waved away, much to their annoyance.
Mourinho said after the match: ‘Pellegrini falls in box and given a yellow card; 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. 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.’
He added: ‘The injustice is shown by the fact Lamela should’ve had a second yellow, he didn’t, and he converted a penalty in the shoot-out.’ After the game footage – which 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.
UEFA are waiting on the referee’s match report before deciding whether to take any action against Mourinho.
The defeat meant Roma failed to qualify for next season’s Champions League and prompted questions about whether the 60-year-old would remain in the Italian capital, having been linked with Paris St Germain.
PSG have shown tentative early interest in Mourinho becoming their next manager. The French champions will assess their options at the end of the season, with current head coach Christophe Galtier out of contract in 2024.
The Spanish side clinched a record extending seventh Europa League title after winning 4-1 in the shoot-out, following a 1-1 draw after extra time, but Mourinho, who gave his runner’s up medal to a Roma fan, was not about to make peace with his fate as he waited to angrily confront Taylor in the car park.
‘F***ing disgrace man, it’s a f***ing disgrace,’ Mourinho fumed, before switching to swear at the official in Italian. ‘F*** off,’ he continued.
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