FA bursts Jose Mourinho’s bubble with misconduct charge hours after Manchester United’s derby victory
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho’s relief at knocking Manchester City out of the EFL Cup was tempered on Thursday when he was charged with misconduct by the Football Association.
Mourinho has until Monday to respond to the charge, which relates to comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor before last week’s draw against Liverpool.
FA rules prohibit managers from making any comment about referees that could be seen as an attempt to influence their performance.
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Former Chelsea boss Mourinho said Taylor would find it “difficult to have a very good performance” due to speculation about the impartiality of the Greater Manchester official.
That followed comments by former referees’ chief Keith Hackett, who said Taylor’s appointment for the highly-charged fixture would place his decisions under unnecessary scrutiny.
Taylor issued four yellow cards, all to United players, as the fixture ended 0-0. Mourinho praised his performance afterwards.
The charge came just hours after United relieved the pressure on their manager by beating neighbours City to reach the EFL Cup quarter-finals.
It was only the club’s second win in five matches and saw them bounce back from Sunday’s 4-0 Premier League thrashing at Chelsea.
Mourinho is no stranger to FA charges. He incurred a one-game stadium ban last season and has been fined more than £140,000 already since returning to England in 2013.