Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho fined £50,000 and handed suspended stadium ban
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho is just one more infraction away from triggering a stadium ban after he was censured for his criticism of officials in this month’s 3-1 home defeat to Southampton.
The Football Association today fined Mourinho £50,000 and issued him with a suspended one-match stadium ban for saying referees were “afraid” to give his team penalties at Stamford Bridge.
The under-fire Portuguese, who admitted the misconduct charge, faces being excluded from his team’s matchday preparations if he is found guilty of another offence in the next 12 months.
Mourinho received a stadium ban during his first spell in charge of Chelsea, obliging him to stay away from a 2005 Champions League quarter-final match against Bayern Munich.
Former Blues defender Nuno Morais later said that Mourinho circumvented the ban by arriving early at the ground, watching the game on television in the dressing room and escaping by hiding in a laundry basket. Chelsea have previously denied the claims.
Mourinho received a public vote of confidence last week following a disappointing start to the Premier League champions’ title defence, in which they have taken just eight points from eight games.