Roma embark on media boycott following Mourinho suspension

Jose Mourinho missed Roma's clash against Sassuolo and Lazio after he was banned for two games

SERIE A Roma embark on media boycott following Mourinho suspension

Ayoola Kelechi 13:04 - 11.03.2023

Mourinho will not be in the dugout for Roma's games against Sassuolo and Lazio

AS Roma have instituted a media ban on their players and staff barring everyone at the club from granting interviews until the end of the season in the wake of manager Jose Mourinho being banned for two matches following a bust-up with fourth official Marco Serra. 

Mourinho and Serra got into a heated argument during Roma’s 2-1 loss to Cremonese in Serie A a fortnight ago, eventually leading to the Portuguese manager getting sent off. 

Mourinho was involved in an altercation with referees after the Cremonese match

After the final whistle, Mourinho stormed the referees’ dressing room, demanding an explanation and an apology for what he deemed “unjustifiable” language from Serra that triggered his angry outburst. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ng/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Mourinho was subsequently banned for two matches and fined for his red card and his unfriendly trip to the referees’ changing room that followed the Cremonense game but could appear in the dugout against Juventus after the ban was suspended while it was being appealed. 

Roma to boycott media engagements after Mourinho’s suspension was upheld

Unfortunately for Roma, the conclusion of the appeal process has found sufficient grounds to uphold the two-game suspension, and the club has reacted to this outcome by barring all its members from speaking to the press until at least the end of the current season. 

According to a report by La Gazzetta dello Sport, players and coaching staff will no longer speak to the media until the end of the season, with the exception of European games in the UEFA Europa League, where they are mandated by contract to do so. 

Roma have embarked on this boycott as a means of protesting against the decision to reinstate Mourinho’s ban, and they hope the lack of media engagement will serve as a strong statement of dissatisfaction with the decision. 

Related content