MOMENT ANGRY ROMA FANS AMBUSH MANCHESTER REFEREE ANTHONY TAYLOR AND HIS FAMILY AT AIRPORT
Referee Anthony Taylor faced a crowd of angry Roma fans as he made his way through Budapest Airport following the Europa League final.
The footage showed Taylor, from Wythenshawe, and his family trying to evade a mob, who were shouting at him as he travelled home after refereeing Wednesday night’s match between Roma and Sevilla in the Hungarian capital. Roma's supporters appeared to throw drinks and chairs in the direction of the 44-year-old, who had to be protected by police as he made his way through to a safe area.
This follows on from boss Jose Mourinho labelling him a 'f****** disgrace' in the car park of the Puskas Arena after his team lost on penalties, the Mirror reports. After the footage emerged, refereeing body The Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) said it was appalled by 'unjustified and abhorrent' abuse directed at Taylor.
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The PGMOL said in a statement on Thursday evening: "PGMOL is aware of videos circulating on social media showing Anthony Taylor and his family being harassed and abused at Budapest Airport. We are appalled at the unjustified and abhorrent abuse directed at Anthony and his family as he tries to make his way home from refereeing the UEFA Europa League final.
"We will continue to provide our full support to Anthony and his family."
UEFA is awaiting Taylor’s reports before deciding whether to take action against Mourinho for his rant. Taylor booked Mourinho during the game, which finished 1-1 after extra time before Sevilla sealed their seventh Europa League triumph by winning 4-1 in a penalty shoot-out.
Tempers simmered on and off the pitch in a disappointing final, with 13 players shown yellow cards, seven of them to Roma players, while fourth official Michael Oliver had his work cut out to keep control of both dug-outs. The game was littered with delays, with a total of 25 minutes’ stoppage time added to the 120 minutes of playing time.
But Taylor, a highly-rated official by UEFA, was praised by former Premier League referee Mark Halsey for his 'exceptional' performance. "You can't condone the actions of Jose Mourinho, the Roma players and the Sevilla players," Halsey began when speaking to talkSPORT.
"I think their behaviour was absolutely appalling. That's going around the world and young children are seeing these babies, the way they act and surround the referee – it was impossible for Anthony Taylor to control.
"I really thought the [refereeing] team did exceptionally well to keep 22 players on the field of play and Anthony refereed the game exceptionally well under extreme pressure from players and team officials. It's difficult in that situation because if you start handing out early yellow cards and sending players off, people will say the referee has ruined the game.
"Referees do not want to send players off, they can only referee to the way players behave, and their behaviour was appalling. They knew what they were doing, Anthony was aware of it and it makes it so difficult for a referee to control a game like that.
"I felt really sorry for him. You cannot blame the officials, it's solely down to the players and the coaches.
"I really do hope UEFA charge both clubs, they have to, otherwise it'll just continue."
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