Mourinho fined £25,000 over ‘campaign’

LONDON: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been fined £25,000 ($38,000, 34,500 euros) over comments he made following his side’s 1-1 draw at Southampton last month, the Football Association announced on Wednesday.
Mourinho claimed there was a media-driven “campaign” against his team following a spate of diving allegations and said a yellow card shown to Cesc Fabregas for simulation during the game was a “scandal”.
“Following an Independent Regulatory Commission hearing, Jose Mourinho has been fined £25,000 after he was found to have breached FA Rules in relation to media comments,” the FA said in a statement on its website.
“The Chelsea manager denied that comments he made after the game against Southampton on 28 December 2014 constituted improper conduct in that they alleged and/or implied bias on the part of a referee or referees, and/or brought the game into disrepute.
“The Independent Regulatory Commission found the comments were a breach of FA Rule E3 in that they were improper and brought the game into disrepute. The Commission did not, however, find that the comments implied bias on the part of a referee or referees.”
Mourinho was also warned about his future conduct, but escaped a touchline ban.
Chelsea were accused of diving following incidents involving Diego Costa, Willian, Gary Cahill and Branislav Ivanovic during games in December.
After Fabregas was denied a penalty and booked for diving against Southampton, Mourinho said the debate had put referees under unfair pressure.
“Of course. That’s a campaign, that’s a clear campaign,” he said.
“People, pundits, commentators, coaches from other teams — they react with Chelsea in a way they don’t react to other teams. They put lots of pressure on the referee and the referee makes a mistake like this. We lose two points, Fabregas earns a yellow card.”
Chelsea are waiting to hear whether they will face any disciplinary action following their stormy 1-0 win over Liverpool.
Brazil-born Spain striker Costa could face a three-game ban after appearing to stamp on Liverpool players Emre Can and Martin Skrtel during the game.