Jose Mourinho denies jibe at referee Anthony Taylor

Jose Mourinho has denied that he ever took a jibe at referee Anthony Taylor after the Europa League final against Sevilla.

After Roma’s loss on penalties against the Spanish side, a video had emerged which saw Mourinho abuse Taylor. The footage showed that the manager aimed a ‘f*****g disgrace’ jibe at Taylor, something which was investigated later.

Mourinho recently spoke to Corriere dello Sport about that case and he revealed that he never aimed that jibe at Taylor, who wasn’t even present around him at that point.

The manager stated: “Taylor wasn’t there, he wasn’t there.”

He further stated: “There were the others, not Taylor, there were the fourth official, the assistants, Rosetti and Howard Webb, the technical director of the Premier League referees. Taylor wasn’t there. I was telling you that from a human point of view it was a fantastic, exceptional experience, also because, in the sixth final, I lost for the first time.

“I knew the good side of the European party and I had never experienced the bad. This is why I say that from a human point of view it has somehow enriched me.”

Mourinho was asked about what actually happened during the incident and he stated: “I’ll tell you after what happened, the truth. The game ends, I enter the field and I’m with my family and the families of the players, I see so many people crying, I never cry after a defeat. I absorb all those emotions. I’m going back because I want to be with the players in that moment of absolute sadness, and with the fans. I bring the players to the Sevilla fans and players and to receive the medals, we participate in the ceremony, we are impeccable. In those minutes I felt that I had to be the father of the family, so I told the group “I’ll stay with you next year too”. The reaction of the boys was splendid, in that moment it was all over.”

Mourinho now seems set to stay at Roma despite previous reports stating that he was on the verge of leaving at the end of last season.

On Taylor, he further stated: “I know I wasn’t elegant, but I didn’t insult anyone. ‘F***** disgrace’ is very similar to the Italian ‘c****!’, an exclamation, an outburst. I went to Rosetti and I said to him: ‘referee, is it a penalty or is it not a penalty?’ Rosetti did what referees usually do, he didn’t answer me. I repeated the question to Webb, he put his hand on my shoulder and said ‘José, yes, it’s a penalty’.”

“Webb did what I wish Taylor had done. Because if Taylor, or someone in his place, had come to us after the game, in the crying locker room, and said “I was wrong, we were wrong, I’m sorry”, not only would it have ended there, but he would have had our respect and our admiration. We all make mistakes, maybe during that game I made a mistake too. I keep thinking one thing: Taylor is good, not to say very good, the relationship I had in England is also positive, he seems to me to be a decent man, I’ve never questioned his honesty. The only thing I say and will always say is that it was a penalty and with that penalty Roma could have won there.”

Roma missed out on Champions League qualification last season and will play in the Europa League once again next season.

Kaustubh Pandey | GIFN