Jose Mourinho, the manager of Roma, confronted English referee Anthony Taylor in a car park following his team’s loss to Sevilla in the Europa League final.
A video shared by Sportitalia showed Mourinho angrily criticizing Taylor for what he believed were poor decisions during the match. He expressed his discontent with the number of cards issued by Taylor, which set a record for a European final.
Mourinho’s frustration escalated as he accused Taylor of appearing to favor the Spanish side. In the video, Mourinho approaches the match officials’ minibus, shouting expletives and calling Taylor a disgrace. He continued his tirade in Italian before concluding with a final insult.
He added: “Congratulations, you f—ing disgrace… F— off.”
Sevilla worked their European magic yet again to lift the trophy for a record-extending seventh time, handing Mourinho his first defeat in six European finals.
An unspectacular match ended 1-1 after extra time but Sevilla beat the Italians in the shootout, with Gonzalo Montiel firing home the winning spot kick, just as he did for Argentina in the World Cup final against France.
Half an hour of stoppage time
The final match on Wednesday was tense and filled with animosity from the beginning. Both benches frequently protested referee Anthony Taylor’s decisions, leading to almost 30 minutes of added stoppage time.
The Roma team was particularly upset when Erik Lamela was not given a second yellow card for a foul, and their frustration intensified when Lamela subsequently scored during the penalty shootout.
Towards the end of extra time, Mourinho received a booking and later commented that Taylor “seemed Spanish.”
He expressed relief that his team would not be participating in the Champions League next year and suggested that Taylor should officiate matches in that competition and exhibit the same behavior that had transpired during the Europa League final.
Mourinho characterized the match as intense and lively, but criticized Taylor’s officiating style, claiming that he consistently issued yellow cards.
Diego Llorente, the Roma defender, echoed his manager, adding: “Today in all the dubious episodes, the yellow cards… the referee blew the whistle in favor of Sevilla.”
“I am surprised because he is an international referee who has a great reputation.”
Remarkably, Mourinho claimed after the match that he had “never been prouder” of his team because “we did not lose our dignity” – despite receiving nine bookings as well as one for Mourinho himself.
“I’ve won five European finals over the years and on this occasion, I’m no less proud than the five times I won,” Mourinho said. “I am proud of the players. I told them before that we would either be left with the cup or we’d be dead on our feet.
“We’re leaving dead on our feet. The players are totally exhausted and so am I, both physically and psychologically.”
“We felt pressure against a team that has more talent than us. We lost a game but not dignity. I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won.
“We had also worked hard on penalties but we missed two – but all together, not only the penalty takers.
“The boys must go home peacefully, with pride for having done what they have done. These are my boys from Budapest.”
Sevilla’s Europa League pedigree
Sevilla, known for their dominance in the Europa League, maintained their remarkable record by winning all seven finals they have played in the competition. They are no strangers to the high-stakes drama, as their opponents have scored first in the last four finals.
Roma took the lead in the 35th minute through Paulo Dybala’s goal on a counterattack. However, Sevilla seized control of the game and equalized in the 55th minute thanks to an own goal by Mancini.
Despite Sevilla’s dominance, Roma had better opportunities through counterattacks and set-pieces, with Chris Smalling’s header striking the crossbar during the 10 minutes of added time.
In the penalty shootout, Sevilla goalkeeper Yassine Bounou emerged as the hero, saving penalties from Gianluca Mancini and Roger Ibanez. Meanwhile, the Spanish side executed flawlessly, converting their first four penalties.
The decisive moment arrived when Montiel stepped up to take the winning kick in the shootout. Although he had missed his first attempt, he received a reprieve when VAR ruled that Roma keeper Rui Patricio had come off the line too early. Montiel capitalized on his second chance and confidently scored, sparking exuberant celebrations among the Sevilla players and fans.
Mourinho had never lost a European final before Wednesday, having last year led Roma to the inaugural Europa Conference League title, becoming the first coach to win all the European trophies.
Losing was clearly a painful experience for the Portuguese who handed his runners-up medal to a fan in the stand after the presentation.
“That’s what I did, I don’t want silver medals. I don’t keep silver medals, so I gave it away,” he told Movistar.
