Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been handed a suspended one-match stadium ban and fined £50,000 (US$77,298) by the Football Association (FA) for misconduct following comments made in the wake of his side’s recent defeat to Southampton.
Mourinho accused the officials of being “afraid” to award his team penalties after Chelsea went 3-1 down to the Saints at Stamford Bridge in London on Oct. 3.
He was unhappy that a spot-kick was not awarded to his side when forward Radamel Falcao went down under a challenge by Southampton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg, but the FA confirmed on Wednesday that the Blues boss had accepted he had breached regulations and, as well as the fine and ban, warned the Portuguese that he faces further punishment for any more such outbursts within the next 12 months.
“Jose Mourinho has been given a suspended one-match stadium ban and fined £50,000 after he admitted a breach of FA rules in relation to post-match media comments,” a statement from the governing body read. “It was alleged his remarks constituted improper conduct in that they alleged and/or implied bias on the part of a match official or match officials and/or brought the game into disrepute.”
Chelsea have endured a poor start to the season and sit in 16th place in the English Premier League with just eight points from eight games before hosting Aston Villa tomorrow.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
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