José Mourinho banned by UEFA from 4 European games for verbally abusing referee in stadium garage

GENEVA (AP) — José Mourinho was banned by UEFA from four European games on Wednesday for verbally abusing the Europa League final referee in a stadium garage after Roma lost to Sevilla.

Footage circulated after the May 31 final of the Roma coach approaching English referee Anthony Taylor in the garage in Budapest and calling him a “disgrace” with an expletive.

Roma lost a penalty shootout to Sevilla after a 1-1 draw which was the Italian club’s last chance to qualify for the Champions League next season

Mourinho is set to serve the ban in the Europa League group stage starting in September, after being found guilty of “directing abusive language at a match official,” UEFA said in a statement announcing its disciplinary panel’s verdict.

The ban is double the minimum two-game ban required by UEFA disciplinary rules.

One day after the final, Taylor and his family were harassed by Roma fans at the airport in Budapest.

UEFA also fined Roma 50,000 euros ($55,000) and will block the club selling tickets for its next away game in the Europa League. The charges included “lighting of fireworks, throwing of objects, acts of damage and crowd disturbances,” UEFA said.

Roma must also contact the Hungarian soccer federation to settled damages caused by its fans at Puskas Arena.

Roma was fined a further 80,500 euros for fan disorder and stadium organization issues in the first leg of the semifinals against Bayer Leverkusen.

UEFA ordered Roma to close two sections of Stadio Olimpico totaling 6,000 seats at its first Europa League home game in September.

At the Europa Conference League final on June 7, Fiorentina captain Cristiano Biraghi was struck and cut by an object thrown from the West Ham fans’ section of the stadium in Prague and left with a bloodied head.

West Ham was fined 50,000 euros by UEFA and banned from selling tickets to fans for its first away game in the Europa League group stage next season. A ban for a second game was suspended for a two-year probationary period.

A pitch invasion by fans in Prague also cost West Ham a further fine of 8,000 euros.

Fiorentina was punished by UEFA for fan disorder at the second leg of the semifinals at Basel.

UEFA fined Fiorentina 30,000 euros and banned the club selling tickets for its next away game in European competition.

Fiorentina placed eighth in Serie A and could play in the Europa Conference League next season only if Juventus is removed by UEFA in an investigation of false accounting. That verdict is due in the next two weeks.

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