Roma coach Jose Mourinho escaped a touchline ban after cooperating with the Italian football federation’s disciplinary prosecutor and was instead only fined €20,000 ($22,000) on Friday for labelling a referee unstable.
Before a recent match with Sassuolo, Mourinho questioned the abilities of referee Matteo Marcenaro.
– Stream on ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, more (U.S.)
“We had him three times as a fourth official and I don’t think he has the emotional stability for games of this level,” Mourinho said.
During the same news conference, Mourinho attacked Sassuolo forward Domenico Berardi, saying the player “exaggerates fouls to draw yellow cards.”
Mourinho later said his Italian wasn’t proficient enough to explain certain concepts.
Roma were also ordered to pay a fine of €20,000 ($22,000), with the money from both the club and Mourinho going toward medical research.
Mourinho was suspended for two matches at the start of this campaign for comments about a referee at the end of last season. He was also banned for four matches by UEFA in June for verbally abusing the Europa League final referee in a stadium garage after Roma lost to Sevilla.
