Mourinho cops two-match ban after seeing red

Serie A penalizes Roma coach ‘for having vehemently contested a refereeing decision’ against Cremonese

ROME:

Jose Mourinho picked up a two-match ban on Wednesday following his outburst against the referee in Roma's 2-1 loss to Cremonese.

The Portuguese boss saw red at half-time during Tuesday's upset defeat, venting his frustration at the match official.

The result knocked his team out of the Serie A top three, dropping them to fifth, one point behind city rivals Lazio.

Serie A explained the ban and a 10,000 euro fine was handed down to Mourinho "for having vehemently and in a provocative manner contested a refereeing decision".

He behaved in a similarly combative style when he was red-carded, the statement added, and at the end of the match "entered the referees' dressing room without permission and made seriously offensive statements".

Cremonese's first league victory of the season lifted them off the bottom, one point above Sampdoria, but still eight points below Spezia just above the relegation zone