Mourinho fined for referee comments

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has been fined 25,000 pounds ($38,000) by the FA after claiming there was a "campaign" to influence referees' decisions against his team.

Mourinho, 52, was in trouble for his comments after his side were denied a penalty in a 1-1 draw at Southampton in the Premier League on December 28.

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The Portuguese contested the charge but the FA's Independent Regulatory Commission ruled the comments were "improper and brought the game into disrepute" although it said they did not "imply bias on the part of a referee or referees".

Mourinho denied his comments constituted improper conduct but the commission thought otherwise and found him guilty of breaching FA Rule E3.

($1 = 0.6573 British Pounds)

Image: Chelsea's manager Jose Mourinho gestures during their English League Cup semi-final second leg soccer match against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge in London on Wednesday

Photograph: Eddie Keogh/Reuters