LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Roma coach, Jose Mourinho has been hit with a two-game ban for “entering the referee dressing room” and use of “gravely offensive expressions”.
The Portuguese manager was sent off – for the third time this season- after an altercation with fourth official Marco Serra in the early minutes of the second half of Roma’s Serie A clash with Cremonese on Tuesday night, at which point they were 1-0 down.
The Giallorossi came back into the match with an equaliser from Leonardo Spinazzola, only to lose 2-1 after Daniel Cofani converted a spot-kick in the 83rd minute to hand Cremonese their first Italian top-flight victory in 26 years.
After the match, Mourinho burst into the referee’s room and made “offensive expressions” which led the Giudice Sportivo to ban him for the next two Serie A matches and dish out a monetary fine of ā¬10,000.
An official press release from Serie A confirmed the reasons for Mourinho’s punishment.
āFor having contested a refereeing decision in a forceful and provocative manner in the second minute of the second half and repeating this behaviour at the time of sending off,” the statement read.
“Furthermore, for entering the referee dressing room and addressing the fourth official with offensive expressions and inferences at the end of the match.”
Mourinho questioned Serra’s integrity in his post-match press conference and accused him of a pro-Juventus bias. He even alleged that the official “spoke to me in an unjustifiable way”, which sparked his furious reaction.
As a result of the ban, Mourinho, will not be present in the dugout for Roma’s next two Serie A fixtures against Juventus and Sassuolo.