Jose Mourinho: Chelsea manager brands FA's £50,000 fine an 'absolute disgrace'

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has labelled the fine imposed on him by the FA for his post-match comments about the referee following his team's defeat at home to Southampton as an 'absolute disgrace' and is also astonished that he has been given a one-match suspended stadium ban for just saying the word 'afraid'. The Blues boss took a dig at the governing body by admitting that he is surprised that he has not yet been asked to wear an electronic tag.

The Portuguese manager was fined £50,000 after accepting a misconduct charge, following his indication that referees are 'afraid' to give decisions for his team, while referring to a penalty claim that was rightly turned down after Radamel Falcao tumbled in the box. It is believed that the former Real Madrid manager has been handed a 12-month good behaviour bond, and if he breaches the code of conduct within that period, the stadium ban will come into effect immediately.

Mourinho was speaking at a launch event for his new book, but used the platform to accuse the FA of singling him out for punishment, while referring to arch nemesis Arsene Wenger, who he believes got away with much more. The Portuguese was referring to the touchline spat between the two managers at Stamford Bridge last season, when the Frenchman appeared to push his Chelsea counterpart in the dugout. Moreover, he believes the Arsenal manager should not have escaped a sanction after he labelled Mike Dean's refereeing as weak and naïve following the Gunners' 2-0 loss earlier in the season.

"Every word I say is a risk. I am just happy I don't have an electronic tag but I think it's not far from that. I also think that [to be fined] £50,000, in the world where we live today, is an absolute disgrace. An absolute disgrace. And I also think that the possibility of getting a stadium ban is also something absolutely astonishing," Mourinho said, as quoted by the Guardian.

"But more difficult for me to understand is when I compare different people with different behaviours or with similar behaviours, with different words or with similar words. I know I'm not English. I know my English is just good enough to work in this country, but is not perfect. But the difference between saying 'afraid' and 'weak and naive'? The difference is £50,000 and [a potential] one-match stadium ban. So, for me, the conclusion is there is something that, now, we know."

"One, we can push people in the technical area. We can, no problem. So anyone in the technical area, we can push. Two, the word 'afraid' is a punishment, and a hard punishment. But to say the referee was 'weak and naive', referring to one of the top referees in this country and in Europe, we can do. So I think the only good thing of this last decision by the FA is that every manager in this country can write in a little book and, when he goes to a press conference, he knows that 'afraid' costs £50,000. 'Weak and naive', you can use," the Chelsea manager added.