Jose Mourinho risked a UEFA ban and fine after confronting the Europa League officials in the stadium car park, branding them ‘f***ing crooks’ after Roma lost to Sevilla on penalties. The Italian side took the lead in Budapest on Wednesday night through Paulo Dybala but were pegged back at the start of the second half by an own goal from Gianluca Mancini, with the match going to extra time and then penalties. Mourinho was livid with the officiating afterwards, slamming Anthony Taylor’s display, and he was particularly critical of the decision to book Lorenzo Pellegrini for a dive but not do the same when Lucas Ocampos went down inside the box – though the Argentine did appear to be clipped with Roger Ibanez also getting a small touch on the ball. Incredibly, Mourinho was still seething in the car park at the Puskas Arena over an hour after Sevilla had lifted the trophy and waited around to confront Taylor and his refereeing team – which also included Michael Oliver. He said: ‘It’s a f***ing disgrace, man. It’s a f***ing disgrace, man.’ Every time he looked like he was finished with the rant he would return again, this time saying: ‘F*** off, man. F***ing crooks, man. Congratulations, f***ing scandalous.’
Mourinho was hugely critical of Taylor in his post-match interviews after Wednesday’s final, even claiming he was glad Roma would not be in the Champions League next season if it meant they avoided being refereed by the Premier League official. Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, he also said: ‘We return dead tired, dead with feeling it is unjust. It was an intense, masculine, vibrant game with a referee who seemed Spanish. It was yellow, yellow, yellow all the time. The injustice is shown by the fact Erik Lamela should’ve had a second yellow, he didn’t, and he converted a penalty in the shootout.’ The incident conjured memories of Mourinho rather famously seeking out the referee after Real Madrid lost to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey in 2012, when he waited in the underground car park at Camp Nou for the officials.