José Mourinho has been hit with a charge from the Football Association after he was sent off during Sunday’s match against West Ham.
The Manchester United boss kicked a water bottle in frustration after Paul Pogba was booked for diving during the 1-1 draw with the Hammers at Old Trafford.
Referee Jonathan Moss sent Mourinho to the stands – his second sending off since joining United as manager in the summer, and his third dismissal in just over a year.
He was sent off last month by Mark Clattenburg during a match with Burnley, and the FA could now come down harder on the Portuguese since they are free to take into account previous incidents within the last 12 months.
He was given one match bans for both of his last two dismissals.
https://twitter.com/Footy_Jokes/status/802924506994118658
Manchester United fans have picked up the fact that Arsene Wenger was sent to the stands for the very same offence back in 2009 – but he later received an apology from referee chiefs.
https://twitter.com/UnitedPeoplesTV/status/803162342133559296
https://twitter.com/18sManUtd/status/803167663060979713
#Wenger received apology 4 being sent 2 the stand for kicking a water bottle. #Mourinho will be hit with sharp sticks for the same offence.
— George Shaw (@321GEO) November 28, 2016
But before you don the tin-foil hat and roll your eyes at the clear anti-Manchester United bias being displayed by the FA, remember that since the incident with Wenger, the rules have been changed.
Partly as a result of another touchline feud between Wenger and Mourinho, the FA brought in new behaviour rules in the summer of 2015 to try to reign in the increasingly unseemly scenes between rival bosses, as Mirror Sport’s chief football writer John Cross pointed out:
The touchline managerial code of conduct was brought in during summer of 2015. Water bottles were even referenced… https://t.co/Th9OmTe9z3
— John Cross (@johncrossmirror) November 28, 2016
So cool your jets United fans. There is no conspiracy (at least not about this). It’s just the rules.
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