UEFA hand Mourinho five-match ban
Reuters - Friday 06 May 2011, 16:02
BERNE - Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has
been given a five-match touchline ban in European competition
for his sending off and verbal outburst at the Champions League
semi-final first leg against Barcelona, UEFA said on Friday.
Mourinho, who won the European Cup with Inter Milan last
season, was also fined 50,000 euros for his behaviour
by a UEFA disciplinary panel.
European football's governing body said Mourinho's ban
included the second leg of the tie, which he has already served,
while the final match would be suspended for a probationary
three-year period.
That means the Portuguese coach will be banned from the
touchline for the first three European matches next season.
Barcelona's reserve goalkeeper Jose Pinto was suspended for
three matches after being sent off in a scuffle on the touchline
at half-time of the same game.
He will miss the final against Manchester United at Wembley
on May 28 as a result.
Both Real Madrid and Barcelona said they were going to
appeal the decisions in statements on their websites.
PEPE PROTESTS
Mourinho was dismissed in the second half of the first leg
against Barcelona for his protests over the red card for Real
midfielder Pepe for a studs-up challenge on Dani Alves.
After the match, Mourinho belittled the achievements of his
counterpart Pep Guardiola, saying he would have been ashamed to
have won the 2009 competition the way they did, and suggested
there was a conspiracy among referees to favour the Catalan
club.
The nine-times European champions lost the match 2-0 at the
Bernabeu and were eliminated after a 1-1 draw in this week's
return, when Mourinho's place on the touchline was taken by
assistant Aitor Karanka.
Pinto also served the first match of his ban in this week's
second leg.
Real were fined 20,000 euros for the improper
conduct of their supporters. UEFA did not add to the one-match
ban for Pepe, which he served in the second leg.
MOURINHO v UEFA
Mourinho has already been in trouble with UEFA this season
when he was given a two-match ban over allegations that two of
his players engineered deliberate red cards on his orders in a
group game against Ajax back in November.
After an appeal, UEFA reduced the ban to one game with a
second deferred for a probationary period of three years, and
cut his fine to 30,000 euros from 40,000. Real's fine was
reduced to 100,000 euros from 120,000.
Afterwards, Mourinho described UEFA's decision as a "medal"
and not a punishment and complained there was one rule for him
and another for other coaches.
The outspoken Portuguese also had a run-in with UEFA while
manager of Chelsea in the 2004-5 Champions League season, after
Didier Drogba was controversially sent off in a last-16 first
leg against Barcelona at the Nou Camp.
Chelsea and Mourinho made unsubstantiated claims that
then-Barca manager Frank Rijkaard had gone to speak to Swedish
referee Anders Frisk at half-time of that game.
UEFA gave Mourinho a two-match touchline ban and fined him
75,000 swiss francs and his club Chelsea 75,000.