Mike Dean: Mourinho’s behaviour in Europa League final was a “disgrace”

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean has told William Hill’s podcast, Up Front with Simon Jordan, that Jose Mourinho was “childish” in the way that he treated Anthony Taylor following Roma’s Europa League final defeat. 

Featuring on William Hill’s Up Front with Simon Jordan, a podcast hosted by the former Crystal Palace owner who speaks to sports stars and celebrities and challenges their opinions whilst scrutinising their careers, Dean spoke on an incident which saw Jose Mourinho confront Anthony Taylor in the stadium car park after Roma’s Europa League final loss last season: “I thought Jose Mourinho’s behaviour towards Anthony Taylor after the Europa League final was a disgrace.

“They went 1-0 up and set out to protect their lead as Mourinho has done so often and the other team would have to play really well to break them down, and they did and they went on to lose that game. Mourinho decided to scapegoat the referee because of one or two things that may have happened in the game.

“I watched the game and I thought Anthony Taylor had a good game. I’m not being biased, I thought he did really well and a lot of other people say the same so it’s not just me. Mourinho shouting across to the referee was childish and everything is recorded so it made him look silly. What happened in the airport after probably transpired because of what had gone on in the stadium which was out of order.

“Mourinho always came into the referee’s room, win lose or draw. I was doing a game with Howard Webb once in Madrid. It was Real Madrid v Borussia Dortmund in a Champions League semi-final and there maybe should have been a red card and he came in and had a right go at Howard Webb. He was saying ‘you’ve cost us this’ and ‘you want them to win’ etcetera. No matter what the result he would come in, give his opinion, and then shake everyone’s hand and say thank you for your time. That’s not me bulls***ing, that’s just how he was.”

Still something bubbling with Klopp after 10 years

 Continuing the discussion on managers’ treatment of referees, Dean recounted a situation that arose after he gave a poor decision against Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund side in his early days at the club.

“I refereed a game in Dortmund once when Klopp was the manager and I sent off a Dortmund player for a second yellow card and when I look back at the footage now it was a really poor decision,” he explained. “He went on TV and gave his opinion and I appreciate that because it was a bad call, but I went back the next season and when I walked out he just looked at me with a glare that said we weren’t going to get anything out of each other for the whole game.

“Even when he came to Liverpool and I was refereeing their games, at first there was always something bubbling with him because of something that had happened almost 10 years ago. We have buried the hatchet now and you move on from these things.”

Sean Dyche used to come into the referee’s room to give his opinions

On the topic of the relationship between referees and managers Dean explained that it is not necessarily common for managers to come and speak to referees after games.

“Not a lot of Premier League managers will actually come into the officials’ changing room after a game,” he said. “You hear a lot of rumours and he said and she said but it’s not that common. Sean Dyche used to come in and give us his opinions and I have no issue with it whatsoever if they want to come and ask us questions.

“At Premier League level if you give your opinion back to managers in the right way, it won’t always be accepted, but if you come across properly and don’t use foul language, then it can be a good thing. The way it is going now that managers are getting the information from the FA to say that if they’re not happy with certain decisions then they can approach people, I think that’s what the stakeholders want in the Premier League.”