Mourinho hit with FA charge after Cardiff clash

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been charged with improper conduct for his behaviour during a Premier League game against Cardiff City, the FA said.

Mourinho was ordered to the stands by referee Anthony Taylor 20 minutes from the end of Saturday’s 4-1 win for protesting to the match official after becoming increasingly frustrated at what he perceived to be Cardiff’s time-wasting tactics.

Mourinho, who has until Thursday to respond to the charge, refused to change his stance when speaking ahead of his side’s Champions League match against Schalke 04.

“If I was at that game and I was paying my ticket, I would be worried with the fact that every time the ball was out or stopped and our opponent had to put the ball back in the game, it took a minimum of 21.5 seconds,” Mourinho said.

“That is a waste of money. You pay your ticket and every time the game stops you have to wait about half a minute? When you multiply that by the number of times the game was stopped ... you pay for 90 minutes but you see 55 or 60.”

Mourinho, who faces a fine, spent the final 20 minutes of Saturday’s match sitting with the crowd after losing his patience.

“I don’t want to say what did or did not happen. I just want to know the reason why the referee stopped me doing my work. To be with the fans was not funny. It was not funny. It’s frustrating.”