FA punishes Mourinho

Jose Mourinho was fined by the Football Association for pre-match comments about Anthony Taylor after his remarks were found to have brought "an additional layer of pressure" upon the referee, it was revealed Wednesday.

Manchester United manager Mourinho spoke about Taylor ahead of last month's goalless draw away to arch-rivals Liverpool in the Premier League.

Taylor's suitability to take charge of the game was widely questioned in the build-up, mainly on account of the fact he lives in Altrincham, near Manchester.

Mourinho, asked for his view, said: "I don't want to say anything about it, but I think Mr Taylor is a very good referee. But I think somebody with intention, is putting much pressure on him, that I feel it will be difficult for him to have a very good performance."

Though far from the most incendiary remarks the Portuguese boss has made during his time in England, they were enough to land Mourinho with a misconduct charge by the Football Association, with his comments said to have been improper and/or brought the game into disrepute.

Mourinho accepted the improper conduct element but contested the disrepute charge. But an independent regulatory commission found against him and imposed a fine. Their reasons for doing so were made public on Wednesday.

"Despite saying that he (Mourinho) did not want to say anything, he contradicts himself by offering actual comment on the match official," the commission found.