The Football Association has given José Mourinho until 6pm on Friday to explain his comments about the referee Anthony Taylor in the buildup to Manchester United’s match at Liverpool on Monday night. “I think Mr Taylor is a very good referee but because such pressure is being put on him I think it will be difficult for him to have a very good performance at Anfield,” said Mourinho. “I don’t really want to say too much more on the matter. Sir Alex Ferguson became the first manager to be charged with improper conduct for such an offence, in May 2011, because of comments he had made about Howard Webb before a game against Chelsea. It was Ferguson’s sixth FA charge in five years for comments he had made about or to referees, although the difference was he had actually been praising Webb, describing him as “definitely the best referee in the country”.

Source: The Guardian October 18, 2016 14:03 UTC