Jose Mourinho charged for using abusive language towards ref at Europa League final

2 June 2023, 23:20 | Updated: 3 June 2023, 03:17

Roma manager Jose Mourinho has been charged with using insulting or abusive language against an official by the governing body UEFA, after Wednesday's Europa League final.

The charge relates to an incident in a car park after the game, in which Mourinho hurled a string of expletives at Taylor.

It came after Mourinho's side were beaten by Sevilla on penalties after the game ended 1-1.

The Portuguese, who was booked during the game, continued his criticism of of the official in his post-match press conference, telling journalists: "it was an intense, masculine, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time."

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The match was ill-tempered and saw Taylor hand out 14 yellow cards, the most booking in a Europa League game.

Footage emerged later on social media showing the referee having abuse hurled at him by Roma fans at the airport as he and his family made their way home on Thursday.

UEFA said in a statement that it "vehemently condemns violent behaviour directed towards its referee Anthony Taylor and his family.

"Such actions are unacceptable and undermine the spirit of fair play and respect that UEFA upholds.

"UEFA maintains a close collaboration with local police and airport security starting from the referees' arrival in host cities.

"However, we are constantly striving to enhance the security measures for officials in coordination with local authorities. We will carefully assess the incidents and incorporate valuable insights into our future event planning processes."

The Premier League also condemned his treatment at the airport, and voiced their support for the official.

"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," a spokesperson said.

"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."

English referees body PGMOL 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."

Sevilla and Roma also face a number of charges over the conduct of their fans and players.

Both clubs have been charged with throwing of objects, lighting of fireworks and improper conduct of their team.

Sevilla were also charged for invasion of the field of play, while Roma were charged with acts of damage and crowd disturbances.