Mourinho will escape reprimand from this
own club despite being charged with
improper conduct by the Football
Association for the second time in the
space of a month – a development which
could see him banned from the dug-out for
three games.
In what is the worst sequence of
managerial disciplinary offences his club
has known, Mourinho was charged by the
Football Association following his
dismissal in the 27th minute of United’s
home game with West Ham United on
Sunday.
Though the repeat offence of misconduct
makes a stadium ban a possibility, that
severity of punishment is thought to be
unlikely. The sequence of offences also
runs the risk of damaging United’s
reputation, yet it is thought unlikely that
the Portuguese will be reprimanded or
spoken to. His conduct is viewed within
Old Trafford as the same kind of
competitiveness which made Sir Alex
Ferguson so competitive and successful.
The latest episode saw referee Jon Moss
dismiss Mourinho after the United's Paul
Pogba was booked by referee Jon
Moss for diving - a decision that replays
proved to be correct. The Portuguese
coach’s dismissal was his third in just
over a year and, although the manager
may have been unsighted from his
vantage point, the sanction may well be
stronger than the one-game bans he
received for the previous two incidents.
Mark Clattenburg sent off Mourinho for
verbal misconduct in the draw with Burnley
at Old Trafford and the current charge falls
well inside the 12-month period during
which the Football Association can take
previous incidents into account. His first
sending-off was just over a year ago when
Mourinho was Chelsea manager – also
against West Ham, at Upton Park, when
Moss was the referee.
The 1-1 draw against West Ham on
Sunday left United with their lowest points
return from 13 league games – 20 – since
the 1989-90 campaign. It was also
United’s fourth straight home league draw.
The two teams are due to meet again at
Old Trafford on Wednesday evening in an
EFL Cup quarter-final tie.
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