Mourinho back in trouble as he faces FA referee charge

A day after his Manchester United side returned to winning ways against Man City, Jose Mourinho is back in trouble with the FA.

The United boss has been charged with misconduct over comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor ahead of the league match with Liverpool earlier this month.

The appointment of the ref, who lives in Manchester, generated a lot of media attention. Despite managers being forbidden from discussing officials before a game, Mourinho was drawn into the debate, saying Taylor would be under increased pressure and it would be "difficult for him to have a very good performance".

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He has been given until 6pm on Monday to respond to the charge.

However, says The Times: "The comments were far from Mourinho's most incendiary."

Former referee chief Keith Hackett said something similar in the build-up to the match, says the Daily Telegraph, adding: "The game ended up passing without any flare ups and Taylor was later praised by Mourinho for his performance."

But "it is the comments made before the game that have got Mourinho into bother", says The Guardian. "New rules were introduced in 2009 in an attempt to crack down on pre-match comments about officials which could be viewed as intimidatory or influential."

Mourinho now faces the prospect of a ban, heavy fine or a warning about future conduct, reports the Daily Mirror.

A 1-0 win and an FA charge represents a return to familiar ground for Mourinho after the shock of Sunday's 4-0 drubbing by Chelsea.

"Last season, Mourinho was fined £50,000 and given a one-game stadium ban for saying officials were 'afraid' to give Chelsea penalties following a 3-1 defeat against Southampton in October," says the Telegraph. "In total, he amassed up £140,000 in fines during his second spell at Chelsea for remarks made to officials during the matches or about them afterwards."