Sevilla remind Mourinho of one of the worst moments of his career
The Portuguese coach does not forget the Budapest encounter
Jose Mourinho still remembers Roma's defeat to Sevilla in the 2023 Europa League final in Budapest, with the Portuguese coach believing his side were wronged in that match, which was followed by a punishment from UEFA.
The Andalusian side travel to face Real Madrid today, Sunday, in the ninth round of La Liga.
During his time in charge of Real Madrid, Mourinho racked up seven wins and one defeat against Sevilla at the Santiago Bernabeu. Away from home he lost once and drew once. Then came the draw in the Budapest final, which he went on to lose on penalties.
The roots of the animosity go back to that 2023 Europa League final, when Mourinho called English referee Anthony Taylor's performance a "robbery" and objected to a number of his decisions during the match.
Mourinho said at the time: "In a European final, I did not expect that. It is enough to see Ibanez's mouth to understand everything, and to see Lamela, who missed a penalty and should have been sent off. It is enough to see that the team that played better in the first half is the one that ended up with three yellow cards. Pellegrini falls and gets a yellow card, while Ocampos pretends to fall and gets no card."
"A disgrace and a curse"
His anger didn't stop at the refereeing decisions. The Portuguese coach confronted Taylor in the corridors of the Budapest stadium after the match and aimed sharp words at him, including "it's a f***ing disgrace" and "you are a f***ing disaster", according to what was stated in the referee's complaint.
Among the reasons for Mourinho's objection was the failure to award Roma a penalty following a handball on Fernando inside Sevilla's area in the second half, when the score was 1-1.
Sevilla sealed the title on penalties in the end, after their Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou shone and boosted his record in the competition.
UEFA handed Mourinho a four-match ban for his conduct towards the referee. Still in charge of Roma at the time, the Portuguese responded by saying: "If I spoke, I would be banned for 10 matches."
Ever since, Mourinho has kept returning to what happened in Budapest, and the confrontation between him and Sevilla is renewed, a side who for him has become an opponent linked to one of the most controversial moments of his coaching career, according to the Spanish newspaper AS.
