Mourinho to challenge FA fine

Jose Mourinho is aggrieved over what he perceives as unfair treatment by the FA. While Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also criticised a referee, he was not punished whereas the Portuguese was fined.
Jose Mourinho is aggrieved over what he perceives as unfair treatment by the FA. While Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger also criticised a referee, he was not punished whereas the Portuguese was fined. PHOTO: ACTION IMAGES

LONDON • Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho will appeal against a heavy fine imposed on him by the English Football Association for criticising referees.

The Portuguese was fined £50,000 (S$106,000) and threatened with a future stadium ban on Wednesday for saying referees were afraid to award penalties to the Premier League champions after Chelsea's 3-1 home defeat by Southampton on Oct 3.

Mourinho contests the FA's suggestion that the under-fire manager's comments "brought the game into disrepute".

"I have to be honest with myself so I have to appeal," he told a news conference yesterday, a day after calling the punishment "an absolute disgrace".

"I think, in the moment, we have got the written reasons and I decided to appeal. So it's the moment to stop with my opinions and not say anything more than I did already.

"I was very objective in my sadness facing the situation."

He was backed up by West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis, who told reporters earlier that the fine was "an extraordinary amount of money".

"Where does it all go?" Pulis asked. "Does it go to charity?

"I've been fined a few times by the FA and, when I asked, I didn't get an answer."

Pulis wants the League Managers' Association and the Premier League to call a meeting of all managers to discuss similar cases that have occurred this season.

"We have to have a meeting to find out what's going on," he said.

The FA later told Reuters that money from fines "is all put back into football, including the grassroots of the game".

On Thursday, Mourinho accused the FA of double standards. Describing the fine as "an absolute disgrace", he said he was being punished far more harshly than others and, inevitably, dragged Gunners boss Arsene Wenger into the argument.

The Chelsea manager compared his fine for saying that referees were "afraid" to give decisions for his team to Wenger escaping any sanction for shoving him in the technical area last season.

He also pointed out that Wenger had not been punished for calling referee Mike Dean "weak" and "naive" and yet he could now be excluded from a stadium.

At a launch of Mourinho, a picture-book reflecting on his career, the Chelsea manager called on the media "to get deep" into the workings of the FA disciplinary department in his latest suggestion that there is a conspiracy against him.

"You should get deep," he said. "You should go. You should be honest. You shouldn't be afraid to write, you won't be punished.

"Every word I say is a risk.

"I am happy I don't have an electronic tag...

"I also think that £50,000... is an absolute disgrace.

He said he was trying to understand the difference between "afraid" and "weak and naive".

"The difference is £50,000 and one-match stadium ban," he said.

REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, THE TIMES, LONDON

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on October 17, 2015, with the headline Mourinho to challenge FA fine. Subscribe