Under-fire English referee Anthony Taylor had to be escorted through a crowd of furious Roma supporters and into a room by airport police in Budapest after they raged at his performance during their Europa League final defeat.
The Italian side lost on penalties to Sevilla after the full-blooded showdown was sent the distance, Paulo Dybala’s first-half strike having been cancelled out by Gianluca Mancini’s own goal, condemning Jose Mourinho to his first European final defeat.
Mourinho was left raging long after the final whistle at the Puskas Arena and savaged Taylor’s officiating as ‘bull****’ before labelling him a ‘f***ing disgrace’ in the car park.
Taylor was tasked with overseeing a feisty affair and brandished 14 yellow cards to Roma and Sevilla players, the most ever shown in one Europa League tie.
He also made several contentious decisions, having awarded Sevilla a penalty before overturning his call and denied Roma a spot-kick for a potential handball.
Referee Anthony Taylor was goaded by furious Roma supporters at the airport in Budapest
Police officers were forced to step in and corral Taylor and his group into a private room
Taylor brandished no fewer than 14 yellow cards during the full-blooded Europa League final
And the anger has continued to sweep across the club, with a large group of Roma supporters directing their rage squarely at Taylor after he was spotted in the airport.
Disturbing footage posted on social media shows groups chanting angrily in Taylor’s direction, forcing police officers to hurriedly usher him into a private room.
In one video, the person holding the camera appeared to grab Taylor’s backpack.
As the 44-year-old was led to safety, pockets of fans argued amongst themselves, with police appealing for calm after a chair was launched inside the terminal.
Another angle shows Taylor edging through the crowd, potentially surrounded by his family. One supporter clad in a white t-shirt steps forward to shout in the official’s face with his phone aloft, before a member of Taylor’s party shoves him away.
Liquid is then sprayed in their direction, coating a man. Eventually, the group were hurried through the door, with one officer catching the flying chair in mid-air.
Taylor was forced to walk through a large gathering and tempers flared, with a chair thrown
The official looked to have been accompanied by his family as they edged through the crowd
Jose Mourinho was among those booked during the showdown, with Taylor in the spotlight
According to Football Italia, the fan that threw the chair is being held by police.
Referee’s charity Ref Support UK declared the abuse ‘so, so worrying’.
On Twitter, they wrote: ‘This is so, so worrying to see and we hope Anthony and his family are OK.
‘This is why we believe organisations like the @LMA_Managers and the @PFA as well as the @WeAreTheFSA need to come out and condemn such behaviour in this country.
‘Managers’ comments and players’ behaviour encourages this and it is on a worrying rise where a serious incident or murder is just around the corner.’
Taylor was accused by Mourinho of ‘seeming Spanish’ for the number of yellow cards he dished out, and the veteran coach angrily confronted the referee after the match.
Deep in the bowels of the ground, Mourinho fumed at Taylor in several languages.
‘F***ing disgrace man, it’s a f***ing disgrace,’ Mourinho raged, before switching to swear at the official in Italian. ‘F*** off,’ he continued.
He then approached the referee’s mini-bus and sniped, ‘Congratulations, you f***ing disgrace’, before trudging off to the team bus.
The clash dragged across the course of the evening with 25 minutes of injury time played across the four halves. At one point, Roma midfielder Nemanja Matic stopped play out of exhaustion, leading Sevilla’s bench to jump up in frustration.
This only added to Mourinho’s ire and he was spotted arguing with members of Sevilla’s backroom team on the edge of the box, requiring him to be restrained.
Taylor then stepped in and awarded Mourinho a yellow card.
‘Next year we won’t be playing the Champions League and that’s a good thing because we’re not made for it,’ Mourinho said.
‘And let’s hope that Taylor, only officiates games in the Champions League and does the same bull**** there that he did tonight, and not in the Europa League.’
Mourinho was raging after his side’s last-gasp loss and later confronted Taylor in the car park
Mourinho had to be restrained after sniping at Taylor for being a ‘f***ing disgrace’
Ironically, Mourinho also declared Roma had not lost their ‘dignity’ in defeat.
‘I’ve won five European finals over the years and on this occasion I’m no less proud than the five times I won,’ he said post-match.
‘I am proud of the players. I told them before that we would either be leaving with the cup or we’d be dead on our feet.
‘We’re leaving dead on our feet. The players are totally exhausted and so am I, both physically and psychologically.
‘We felt pressure against a team that has more talent than us. We lost a game but not dignity. I’ve never gone home prouder than today, even when I won.’
The veteran coach was physically held back during one of the final’s many flashpoints
A glum Mourinho left the pitch after giving away his runner’s up medal to a child in the crowd
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